I'm In Love with a Plumber
by Aesha
Summary: ‹COMPLETE› Sakura just had to fall for her next door neighbor a.k.a Li Syaoran, the lousiest plumber on the face of this planet. A satire.
1. Chapter 1

Aesha, _despite what she claims in her dreams,_ does not own the ever so delicious Li Syaoran. Unfortunately, he belongs to CCS, which belongs to CLAMP. Any resemblance of events or characters to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. On the side note, Aesha dedicates this story to her good friend, **Tasa**—hah! I completed your stupid challenge.

(_**Note**_) The story **is** meant to be a satire. Also, grammar may be a bit sketchy.

That's all! Enjoy... :D

* * *

**I'm In Love with a Plumber**

Rule Number One:  
Professional _plumbers put up advertisements in the newspaper or on TV,  
_**NOT** _the women's bathroom door._

oOo

"Are you there yet? Is the cab driver driving safely? Does the neighborhood look decent?"

"Yes, yes, and yes!" an auburn haired girl cried exasperatedly into the phone. "Onii-chan, I'm only moving out on my own. Stop treating me like I'm some helpless little girl!"

"I'm _not_ treating you like a helpless little girl," the person on the other line answered curtly. "I'm treating you like a _naïve_ little girl."

She scoffed under her breath, not appreciating the comment at all. She was anything _but_ naïve. She was not naïve!

"I am _not_ naïve!" she screamed into the phone. "I am 21 years old, _and_, whether you accept it or not, I am now an adult."

"Whatever. Just call me when you get there."

"Just for that—" she stuck her tongue out at the phone; pretending that it was her brother's face, "—I'm not going to call you."

The nerve of that man to call her childish.

"Mister, am I naïve or childish to you?" she turned to ask the cab driver.

The man took his eyes off the road for a second to give her a really strange look. "Pardon?"

She sighed quietly and said, "Never mind."

_Being 21 years old, I'm the most unfortunate person on the face of this planet. My Okaa-san passed away when I was three years old, so I grew up in an atmosphere with only a father and a brother. My father tried to spend as much time with us as he could when we were growing up, but his job called for a lot of his time. My brother and I lived with our aunt during the times that our father wasn't around the house. Touya became a controlling, overprotective freak when I was old enough to understand _what_ made guys different from girls._

_I have never had a boyfriend (and I wonder whose fault that is). I don't know what a first kiss, or any kiss for that matter, is like. I don't know anything about dating, because I've never dated before. I've seen my girlfriends fall up and down over men and, frankly, I don't want to end up drying my tears with one box of tissues after another._

_I've never thought of my future. My life long plan used to be: get a high school degree, go to college, get myself a decent career after graduation, start a family of my own, and then enjoy retirement days. _Somehow_, I ended up quitting after three years of college and moved back home to live under my family's support._

_But that was going to change soon. Starting with today, I_—_Kinomoto Sakura_—_will start to make something out of my life._

_Why am I so motivated of a sudden?_

_Well, you know the saying that goes like, 'you won't know what your youth has been missing until you realize you only have a tiny amount of time left'? No, I didn't find out that I have cancer or anything like that. I found out something much worse; even worse than death itself._

"This is it."

Sakura snapped out of her thoughts and quickly turned to look outside the window. She pushed the door open and stood in front of the car, gazing up at the building before her, taking in a very deep breath.

"Well, Sakura..." she whispered to herself. "This is it! This is your new home."

She glanced at the building again, and then turned to the driver with a pleading look in her eyes, hoping that it was some sort of mistake. "Are you sure this is the right place?" she asked.

The middle-aged man began to get her luggage out from the trunk. "Nothing you expected, huh?"

Sakura smiled nervously and looked at the building again.

"So much for a penthouse looking apartment," she groaned. "This is the price I have to pay for trying to move out of the house without a dime on me."

The building stood between a small bakery on the right and a run down drug store on its left. The building looked fairly old. It wasn't what she would consider 'luxurious', but it beat some of the shabbier places she had seen people lived in. The neighborhood was _almost_ pleasant. She would have to say that this was going to be an exciting adventure—no doubt about that.

She took in a deep breath and grabbed her luggage. "Well, I guess this is it! Better make the best out of it, right? Life's not going to get better if I just stand here and whine."

The man laughed. "Good luck, kid."

Sakura frowned.

Why couldn't people get it right?

She was _not_ a kid.

She was more determined to get through the test God had given her. There was no way she was going back home and admit defeat. A crystal palace apartment or not, she was determined to start a life for herself—_by herself—_using her own two hands.

"You know what the first man on the moon said," she said. "There's no money on the moon, but then there's no money in my pockets either."

"Who said that?"

Sakura jumped when a voice suddenly came out of nowhere. When she turned around, a pair of amber eyes gazed down at her intensely, mesmerizing her with each passing second. His eyes were like a whirlpool of mysteries—enigmatic and alluring, all at the same time. In those few seconds, Sakura felt as though she was in an endless maze, just searching for a way out but there was none.

The magical feeling was so strange and new to her. Perhaps, because it was the first time she had seen someone _that_ good looking.

"Great." He groaned in annoyance. "Are you just going to stare at me all day, or are you going to move?"

She finally regained her composure. "H-Hoe?"

"You're blocking my way," he said, annoyed, and pointed to the entrance way that she was _indeed_ blocking.

Sakura blushed in embarrassment. "G-gomen."

She moved aside for him to pass. He grunted shortly before walking away, mumbling a few things to himself about how he didn't understand women at all.

_Way to go, Sakura! Great way to make a fool of yourself._

"This is not my day." Sakura dropped her things on the ground and turned around to look for a taxi.

She couldn't bear moving into the apartment that day. Maybe she could stay at Tomoyo's for a while. Tomoyo and her boyfriend probably wouldn't mind if someone crashed in on them. They could stop having sex for a few days, and it wouldn't kill them at all. Meanwhile, it would probably kill Sakura, without a doubt, if she moved into the apartment that day.

"By the way—" She jumped when the guy's voice popped out of nowhere _again_. Well, it popped out from behind her... but whatever. "The first man on the moon said, 'This is one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind'. You should never go around quoting people if you can't quote them correctly."

And with that, he disappeared back into the building. Sakura stared at the entrance; dumbfounded. Then she found herself bursting into a fit of giggles.

"Interesting..." Sakura grabbed her luggage and headed toward the entrance.

Sakura stepped into the building and glanced at the main lobby briefly; it didn't _look_ so bad. She had found the place in the newspaper by random and called in immediately, because it was cheap. She didn't expect to get a call back from the landlord five minutes later, saying that she got the apartment. The person didn't even ask for her name or anything. He just said, 'You got the apartment. Move in whenever,' and hung up. Ha! Some lousy landlord.

"Hellooo?" she called out. The lobby was practically empty.

_Does anyone even live in this building?_

"Be right out!" Someone finally replied twenty seconds later.

She sighed and walked around the small room, looking at random things, amazed by the spiderwebs located in every possible corner. Gosh. What kind of hellhole was the place?!

"How may I help you?"

She stared at the person standing in front of her, mouth wide open, while trying to form correct sentences. But all that came out was, "I... err... you see... _hubba hubba_."

"Pardon me?" He arched his eyebrow slightly; obviously, '_hubba hubba_' was not in his dictionary.

_Oh, God. If only Tomoyo is here to see this man—this _gorgeous _piece of meat._

Sakura mentally slapped herself in the face. She had been hanging out with the girls a _tad bit too much_.

Not like she was able to help herself. She wasn't the one to blame for her behavior, because he was the one standing there with a small towel around his waist. Not to mention how absolutely eye-catching he looked with water droplets falling down from his hair and running down his toned..._tan_ body.

She _definitely_ watched too many romance movies with shower scenes.

"Yue, throw on some damn clothes." Her mind snapped away from its dream world when a third person said agitatedly. It was the guy from before. "Just because you own the building, it doesn't mean you can go around blinding everybody."

The silver-haired man—was that even a real hair color by the way?—grunted and mumbled something under his breath before disappearing into a room on the left.

"If you want to sue him for any future emotional traumatizes, the forms are on the desk," the guy with amber eyes said.

"Wait—_he's_ the landlord?" Sakura asked.

"Last time I checked," he replied before walking away.

What was it with guys and walking away? Did it _kill_ them to say something before leaving? Whatever happened to the good old 'have a nice day' or 'welcome to the neighborhood'? Even a 'peace out' was fine.

The Yue guy eventually came back a few minutes later. This time, he had on clothes. Normal clothes.

"Sorry. I was taking a shower when you came in," he started saying. "You must be the girl I spoke with earlier on the phone."

"Yeah."

He walked over to the lobby desk and pulled a key out from one of the drawers. "Here's your key. I'll show you to your apartment and explain a few things." He threw her the keys and led the way through a door that led to the stairway. "My name is Yue."

"Yue-san, why are we taking the stairs?" Sakura asked.

"The elevator has been broken for a week."

"Have you tried calling for maintenance?"

The man shrugged. "He said he was too lazy to fix it."

_Too lazy._

_What kind of maintenance person says he's too lazy to work?_

"And I'm too lazy to kick his ass."

_Don't tell me I have to walk this stairs everyday until these people get off their lazy asses..._

"By the way, which floor am I living on?" Sakura asked.

"Ninth. There are a total of twelve floors with four apartments per floor."

_Are you freaking kidding me!?_

"Won't the elderly get tired of walking up the stairs everyday?"

"There's about forty something tenants in this building, ranging from 18 to 30 years of age. They're all females, except for one."

She sweatdropped.

"So you and the guy from earlier are the only males here?"

"Pretty much."

_Man. I have a bad feeling about this place..._

_Living under one building with forty something other women and drooling over the same guys— this is going to be hell._

After walking one flight of stairs after another, Sakura couldn't feel her legs anymore. They were so sore and numb she couldn't walk another step. Sakura could hardly breathe from all that walking. She knew she shouldn't have quit running the treadmill.

"Are you okay?" She could tell he was trying to hold back his chuckles.

"Yeah," she said in between breaths. "How many more?"

"We're on the ninth floor already." Sakura could not be any happier to hear that. "Your apartment is just down the hall." Yue continued to lead the way. "Room 203 is next to room 4."

"Wait—why is 203 next to 4?"

"I'm just the landlord. Do you people expect me to know _everything_ around here?" he started screaming. "Maybe 4 wants to be beside 203. Does everything have to make sense to you people? Can't you ever be satisfied with what you know? It's always logic. Why this, why that—what is wrong with people in society today?!"

"Okay, geez! I was only wondering."

_I rest my case._

_He is hot, but what a nut case._

"I only provide you a place to stay. If you need something fixed, or if you need to buy whatever, then it is your own problem," he continued. "The monthly rent includes both electricity and water. I collect rent at the end of each month—you come to me, I don't hunt you down. If I don't get a check or cash on my desk on rent day, I'll throw your ass out. Got it?"

Sakura nodded.

"Do you need help with that?" Yue looked at the luggage in her hands.

Sakura snorted in her head.

_Wonderful. Let me haul it up nine flights of stairs and _then _ask me if I need help._

"I'll manage to walk six more steps," she drawled while dropping one suitcase on the floor, and jammed the key into the keyhole with her free hand.

She pushed the door open and stepped inside. She set her luggage down on the floor and observed her so-called apartment. Sakura couldn't help but let an expression of disgust show on her face. No wonder the apartment was cheap as dirt. The ceiling was practically falling apart, paints were chipped off everywhere, mites and God knows what other creatures lived in the place, and the furniture looked like it belonged to the Mesozoic Era. Not to mention the stinky, moldy smell that lingered in the air.

"Pretty nice place, isn't it?" Sakura couldn't tell if he was being funny or sarcastic, because he could _not_ have been serious.

She walked over to sink and ran her index finger over the top of the counter, amazed to see how many layers of dirt she'd collected in just one second. The girl was appalled when she tried to move, but her shoe was stuck to some sort of gum-like substance on the floor.

_You have to be kidding me!_

"There is no one else on this floor, so if you need help just ask the guy in apartment 205," said Yue.

Sakura nearly choked on her own spit. "Wait—_guy_?"

"The guy you met earlier." Yue tried to hide the annoyance in his voice.

"_He_ lives on this floor?" Sakura asked again.

"If you try to rape him and get injured in the process, I am not liable for any charges from your family."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Why would I try to rape _him_?! For all you know, he could try to rape _me_."

The silver-haired man laughed hysterically. Wiping the tears from his eyes, he walked away after mumbling 'you wish' to her face.

_What did he mean by 'you wish'?!_

zZz

"Your landlord said _what_!?" the girl on the other line screeched loudly before laughing her ass out.

"Yes, the nerve of him!" Sakura screamed back, outraged by the comment from earlier. "Can you believe that he would actually say that to a client?!"

The other girl paused slightly. "Hm... is he hot?"

"Which one?"

"So they're both hot?"

"Why do you think two men attract so many women into this building?"

Her friend laughed. "This will be very interesting, ne?"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Never mind about that. What did Eriol say about me getting a job as his secretary?"

"Not going to work."

"Why not?"

"He said that I shouldn't send you to spy on him."

Sakura groaned. "But I need a job!"

"He said he'll help you look around." Sakura relaxed a bit. "So, are you really engaged?"

"Why did you remind me?"

Leave it up to Tomoyo to bring up the subject she wanted to forget most all month long.

It was bad enough that she didn't have a 21st birthday party, but her father just _had_ to decide to break the shocking news to her _on her birthday_. What was worse than finding out that she wasn't getting a car after years of begging for one? Finding out that she was betrothed at birth to some guy, whom she had never met or even heard of.

Now, _that_ was worse than death.

"Do you know anything about your secret soon-to-be-husband?"

Sakura sighed into the phone. "I know that my dad and his dad were good friends, and we were betrothed at birth. I also know that he has lived in America most of his life. He graduated from an Ivy League school. We were supposed to meet when I turned 18, but the other side requested to wait until he has established a stable career"

"So no physical descriptions?"

"Nakuru described him as black haired and very bookworm looking." Sakura scrunched her nose together just repeating those words.

Tomoyo started laughing. "I told you, Sakura. You should have dated when you had the chance. Now you're stuck with Mr. Bookworm."

"Stop rubbing it in, Tomoyo." She sulked, realizing her regrets, too.

Was this what people meant by 'live life to the fullest and leave no regret'?

"Although, I overheard Touya and Nakuru talking about some Koji guy when I walked by their bedroom once," Sakura said. "So I've come to the conclusion that his name is Koji."

"Koji...?"

Sakura exhaled. "I'm going marry to some American snot."

"American snot?"

"You've seen the guys at your work!" Sakura exclaimed. "Snots I tell you."

"Sakura!" Tomoyo managed to choke out before laughing. "The guys at my work are _French_, honey!"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Your point is?"

"Hey, I have to go. Eriol's home now." Sakura sighed. Whoever said the bond between girlfriends was stronger than everything? Apparently, it wasn't stronger than the temptations of sex.

"Fine. Fine," she grunted in annoyance. "Go make mad love with the guy."

"Sakura!" the other girl laughed loudly. "Eriol and I do not make mad love!"

"Are you sure about that, dear?"

Sakura heard a low voice in the background, followed by a yelp from her friend, and the next thing she heard was... well, _nothing_.

She flipped her phone close and threw it on the sofa.

Sakura wondered what it would be like if Tomoyo hadn't met Eriol. Don't take it the wrong way—she was happy for Tomoyo. But at the same time, she felt left out of her friend's life.

It was merely a few years ago that Daidouji Tomoyo's life revolved around Sakura. The girls spent every second and did everything together. But ever since Mr. Hiiragizawa Eriol came into the picture, Tomoyo had become so absorbed in her romance that the girls hung out less. Sure, they talked on the phone every day for about five to six hours, but that wasn't enough for Sakura. Sakura needed her best girl available to her twenty-four-seven, not every hour that she wasn't having sex with her boyfriend.

She missed her best cousin slash girlfriend.

But in a way, Sakura envied her friend.

She wanted to know what it was like to be in a relationship, to become a real woman. Not just grow up into a woman by age, but become a _real_ woman—go through the whole process and well, you get the idea. She didn't want to have the experience with just anyone though.

She wanted to have it with that special someone—the man of her dreams, her soul mate, her prince charming, her knight in shining armor, etc...

_Oi, Sakura, stop dreaming and get your head out of the clouds._

Sakura exhaled heavily.

zZz

Sakura slammed her hand on top of the alarm clock and threw it into the wall in frustration.

"I hate this place!" she screamed.

She didn't get a wink of shuteye last night. She thought she would have a good night's sleep on the first night, but she was dead wrong.

Every time she closed her eyes, she would hear dripping noises. At first, she thought it was just her imagination until it kept occurring, each time getting louder and louder. She eventually got up and searched for the source of her frustration. It took her about an hour to figure out that the dripping noises were coming from the sink in the kitchen. Water was leaking from the pipe.

How the hell did she even hear the dripping noises from all the way inside her room? God knows how, but she heard it. Every last drop of water.

She estimated the leak to be a drop per second so that was 60 drops of lost water in a minute, calculating to be about 3600 drops every hour—she lost 21,600 drops of water the whole night!

"Wait..." she sat up immediately. "I don't have to pay for water bill!"

She exclaimed excitedly and fell back down on the bed comfortably, pulling the sheet over her head and drifted off to sleep, ignoring the whole water issue. Let the hot, crazy landlord worry about the water problem.

"What if the world runs out of water because of me?" Sakura asked herself.

Unlikely to happen, but it _could_ happen—the world running out of water because of one leak. It was a possibility, no matter how little the chances were (probably one to a mega-bazillion-trillion-million).

Sakura pulled herself out of bed. Grabbing some clothes out of her closet, she got into the shower hoping that it would be a great start to her day, even though she knew better than to expect anything good while living in the stupid apartment building. Not to mention she had to go out and look for a job since _someone_ refused to give her a job as his secretary.

_Crap_. She loathed Eriol.

After she was finished with her shower, Sakura went down to the main lobby to talk to Yue about the whole leak problem. Of course, she had to walk down nine flights of stairs. By the time she reached the main desk, she had to hold onto it to support herself from falling down.

"It's not wise to wear heels if you're going to walk up and down the stairs," the man remarked behind his sardonic snickers. "How may I help you?"

"My kitchen sink is leaking," Sakura said.

Yue arched an eyebrow at her, as if saying 'what do you expect _me_ to do about it?'

"Call a plumber," he said, trying to stop himself from saying _'Duh_!' to her face. "Look it up in the newspaper, watch some TV, or drive around and look at billboards."

"Let me guess..." said Sakura. "...this is at my expense?"

"Of course!"

Sakura groaned.

_I could just let it leak and he'll have to fix it himself eventually if the water bill is too high._ Sakura thought wickedly in her mind. _Yes, I_'_ll do just that!_

"I will kick your ass into the street if you don't fix that leak," Yue said with a _very_ sweet smile on his face.

Sakura liked it better when he didn't smile; he seemed _much_ nicer frowning than smiling.

"If you want someone cheap, there's an advertisement on the women's restroom door." Yue pointed over to where the ground floor's restrooms were.

"Who puts up an advertisement on the women's restroom door?" asked Sakura.

"Apparently this guy," Yue replied. "Don't worry. He fixes everything that ever goes wrong around this neighborhood."

"The important question here is: how cheap is he?" said Sakura. "That's all I need to know."

"He's cheaper than cheap."

"Thanks." Sakura walked in the direction he had pointed to earlier.

She went through one door and found herself looking at two other doors, one labeled 'Men' and the other 'omen'. She didn't even want to know what happened to the 'W'.

_Omen? Oh my Kami-sama..._

She eyed the flyer and read over it briefly:

From plumbing to air conditioning or heating and everything else—  
Guarantee you great services at a cheap price!  
Pick up the phone NOW, and call 555-4636!  
Don't forget—Li Syaoran is _your_ man.

Sakura sweatdropped. She got out her phone, and dialed the number on the paper. She held the phone against her ears as she leaned against the wall with a bored look, waiting for the other line to answer.

"Hello?" the person on the other line picked up groggily after the fifth ring.

"Is this...um—" Sakura looked back at the flyer, "—Li Syaoran?"

"Yeah," he answered. "What do you need?"

Sakura assumed that he had just woke up. She had to admit, his voice sounded _very_ attractive.

"I have a small leak," she said.

"How small?"

"Very small but also very annoying."

Sakura heard some little noises on the other line, and then there was a long silence. She wondered if he fell back asleep on her or something.

"Address?" His voice returned a few seconds later.

"23 Park Av."

"Room number?"

"203."

"Name?"

"Kinomoto Sakura." There was a loud thud on the line. "Hello? Are you there? Hello? Are you okay?"

No one answered, and the other line hung up.

It was official—he fell asleep on her. Sakura walked back out into the lobby. "Yue, your guy hung up on me."

"He always hangs up on people." Yue laughed. "He'll come and fix your leak."

"When?"

"Does it look like I would know?"

Sakura sighed.

"Looks like I won't be going out today then," she said.

Bending down to take off her heels, she started walking towards the staircase.

zZz

_Oh my Kami-sama... where is that plumber!?_

Sakura screamed her mind out in frustration. She had been waiting all morning for that plumber to show up, but he never did. She called him at seven that morning, and it was three in the afternoon, but the guy hadn't showed up yet. How busy could his schedule be?

Grabbing her phone off the table, she quickly dialed his number while mumbling curses under her breath.

"Hello."

Sakura perked up immediately. "Where the hell are you?! I've left you 50 messages in the past—" she paused to look at the clock, "—two.. five... _seven_ hours! I called you seven hours ago! Where are you at?!"

"In front of your apartment."

The doorbell rang.

Sakura walked over to open the door, and almost dropped the phone when she saw who was standing in the hall. "_You're_ the plumber?"

"I was... er... caught up all morning," the brown haired guy said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "What do you need fixing again?"

"My leak."

"Oh... the sink, right?"

Sakura stepped aside to let him in. "Kitchen sink. Couldn't sleep a wink last night because of its annoying dripping."

The guy—Li Syaoran—chuckled. "You must have some ears to hear the dripping."

Sakura frowned at his comment, unsure whether to take it as a compliment or an insult. After all, she had never heard anyone complimenting another person on having 'some ears'...

Just what was 'some ears'? Good ears or ears like Dumbo?

She decided to drop the subject and focus on the guy.

"You're right... this is a small leak," he said, bending over on the floor to look at the pipe.

First thing Sakura noticed was his fine ass.

_Okay, Sakura... breathe. Get a hold of yourself! He's here to fix the leak so you can sleep. Wait_—_doesn't he live across the hall from me?!_

Oh, Heavens.

"I should get this fixed in five seconds," he announced impressively.

"Really?"

_Wow, he must be a really good plumber._

He suddenly pulled out a roll of duct tape from his equipment bag and rolled it around the spot where the leak was. Then he grabbed the salad bowl that was lying on the counter and placed it where the water used to drip.

"There!" He exclaimed, standing up to clap his hands together like he had just finished something hard and tiring.

Sakura blinked. "You're _done?!_"

"Yup. Told you I'd be done in five seconds." He started walking over to the door.

"Oh my..." Sakura was baffled.

"By the way, welcome to the building." He turned to say to her at the door with an inexplicable smile on his face. "I'm sure you and I will have a great time being neighbors. If you need to fix anything, just dial me up or find me across the hall. For today's service, I'll only charge you half the price. I'll stick the bill in your mail later. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to fix the elevator before Yue kicks my ass."

Sakura gulped, still speechless about his 'plumbing' skills.

_Note to self: __**Do not**_ _use the elevator._


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm In Love with a Plumber**

* * *

Rule Number Two:  
_You can come into the girl's apartment uninvited  
And slap her in the ass, but __**DROP**__ the milk._

**oOo**

"I _told_ you to call me."

Sakura looked down at the floor, trying to hide the annoyance in her expression. Leave it to her brother to fly all the way from China to Japan in one day, because his little sister forgot to call. Well, _technically_, she didn't _want_ to call him. But her brother didn't need to know that.

"Something bad could've happened to you!"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "You left your wife in China during your second _honeymoon_ to fly back here and lecture me?"

Touya froze at her words, like he was trying to process them through his head. "Wife... second honeymoon... Oh _shit_ Nakuru!"

"You _forgot_ about Nakuru?!"

"I didn't _forget_ about her," Touya replied in defence. "I just didn't get a chance to tell her I was flying back here."

"Uh huh," said Sakura, rolling her eyes yet again. "You know, she's going to blow."

As if Sakura had just jinxed her brother's luck, his cell phone started to ring loudly. Touya quickly threw the phone over to Sakura and sweetly mouthed a threat to her.

Sakura sighed and pressed the talk button, preparing herself for the worst.

"Kinomoto Touya, you better tell me your ass is on China's soil or _else_!" the voice on the other line said dangerously, emphasizing on '_or else_'.

Sakura gulped. "Hi, 'Nee-chan."

"Sakura?" Her sister-in-law breathed slowly, a sign that she had calmed down a little. "Why do you have Touya's phone, and where the hell is that bastard?"

"Onii-chan is kind of busy right now," said Sakura.

"Well, you better tell him to get his busy ass back on a plane and fly back over here so I can kick it."

Sakura sweatdropped.

"What do you want me to do?" she whispered to her brother.

"Anything!" He mouthed back.

Sakura flipped the phone close and stared back at Touya innocently. "What? You said to do anything."

He merely scowled at her.

"Well, _excuse me_ for trying to help!"

Touya snorted, getting up from his seat. "Want to grab a cup of coffee?"

"You're treating?" Sakura asked, speechless at the thought of her brother offering her a drink.

The older man laughed loudly. "You wish, kaijuu." Sakura sighed. She knew it was _too_ good to be true. "You are."

"Fine. Fine."

"Let's go then!"

Sakura grabbed her coat while cursing her brother in her mind. "But I'm warning you, I'm saving money so only one drink."

"Cheap butt."

Sakura stepped out and locked the door. "Bite me."

"Real nice, kaijuu."

"Whatever. Do you want coffee or not?"

zZz

_Note to self: Never treat Touya to coffee ever again._

Sakura sighed as she unwillingly handed the cashier three twenties with a longing look on her face that said she didn't want to let her money go. "Are you sure it's $59.40?" she asked the cashier again.

The black head looked at her with an annoyed look on her face. "Yes!" she replied, irritated. "While you went to use the restroom, the man ordered an extra 20 cups of mocha to go."

Sakura couldn't believe this. Touya had just caused her to throw sixty bucks away—that jerk!

"Look, lady, can you just hand me the money?" The girl looked at Sakura with a look that said 'go away already'. "I'm not paid to deal with these kind of problems."

Sakura felt her upper lip twitching.

"Look, I ain't got all day," the girl said. "Just give up the money and give us all a break."

Sakura quickly slapped the dollar bills onto the counter. "Keep the change!" She snapped at the black haired girl before grabbing her purse off the counter and storming out the shop, leaving a trail of fuming smoke behind her. "The nerve of that—"

Sakura let out in frustration as she stood outside the shop. She turned around, pushed her way back into the coffee shop and walked up to the cashier. "I changed my mind."

She grabbed the change and stormed out of the shop again. This time, she was never going to step her foot inside ever again as long as that _so-called_ rude, ill-mannered girl worked there.

This was by far one of the worst mornings in her entire life. Sakura dug into her purse and quickly pulled out her phone. She started punching in numbers—she was literally _punching_ in numbers.

"You are such a meanie-butt, I hope you get run over by a bus!" she yelled into the phone when the other line picked up.

"Who is this?"

Sakura quickly put a hand over her mouth. "Wait—I thought this is my brother's number."

"Apparently, I'm _not_ your brother and you've called the wrong number," the guy on the other line remarked sarcastically.

"Heh heh... gomen," her face flushed with embarrassment, and then something hit her. _That voice_... "_Li Syaoran_?"

There was a long pause on the other line. "...Sakura...?"

Sakura quickly flipped her phone close and held it against her beating heart. _Oh my Kami-sama, that was so embarrassing._

She opened her phone again to check her recent outgoing call, 555-4636. _Then what's Touya number?_ She checked her contact list. 555-4635. _Wonderful. They're one number away._

Wait—he remembered her name. _He remembers my name!_

Why should she be excited though? It wasn't like she won the lottery or anything. Heck, at least winning the lottery could have _fed_ her. Sakura almost jumped when her cell phone started vibrating. She really needed to change her phone to loud. "Moshi moshi," she answered.

"Sakura, good news!"

She quickly held the phone away from her ears. "Tomoyo, you don't have to shout this early in the morning."

The other girl giggled sweetly. "Eriol knows someone that is looking for a secretary."

"Really?" Sakura asked happily. "What company?"

"He said he will introduce you to him today," Tomoyo continued. "The pay is good though."

"Really?"

Well, it wasn't like she had a choice in who she wanted to work for. After all, what idiot would want to hire her as a secretary when she had no college degree? Not to mention a very bad working record. Sakura concluded that the person who was going to hire her was crazy, or he was pretty desperate for a secretary.

Okay, don't get her wrong. She would make a great secretary—_IF_ you take out the fact that she was a little hot-tempered at times, impatient, and lazy. She'd tried working as a secretary in the past, but she ended up being fired once or twice... maybe it was three times. She was fired the first time because she fell asleep while her boss was giving a speech. The whole room fell silent when they heard her snoring. Then out of embarrassment, she stood up and started applauding loudly, telling him how magnificent his speech was. Unfortunately, she had completely forgotten that she was attending a funeral.

Her second boss wasn't half as bad. He was a kind, bald middle-aged man that was nice to his employees, and he gave a very good salary. If only Sakura had understood the words that came out of his mouth. It was like he was speaking a different language. Sakura didn't know how everyone at work could've understood him without going 'Huh?'.

Now, her third boss was just plain horrible. He was a man of foul words. He criticized everything that she did and made her re-write a darn report over and over again for like a hundred times before approving it. One day, he asked her to drive him to see his mother in the countryside—just who did he think she was?! His chauffeur? She had no choice, but to drive him. While she was driving, he did nothing but criticized her driving skills. Then out of nowhere he screamed out 'STUPID PIG!' and that was the last straw. Sakura blew up on him. It turned out there _was_ actually a pig, which she ran over mercilessly, and she was fired the next day for cussing at her boss.

"I have to go to work now," said Tomoyo. "But don't forget to meet Eriol at Royale's, okay?"

"Thanks." Sakura smiled into the phone.

She hoped that her new boss won't be so hard to get along with. She just wanted a stable career for a while until something better came along. She had an apartment to pay for, clothes to buy, and if she earned enough money—who knows?—maybe she could hire someone to assassinate her _so-called_ fiancé.

Sakura laughed at the thought. _Beautiful..._ she thought. _Just beautiful._

zZz

"Sakura!"

Sakura turned her head to the direction of the voice, trying to hide the frown that was clearly on her face.

_Hiiragizawa Eriol._

How she loathed the man. Even though he was dating her best friend_—__stole_ her best friend away to be exact_—_he and Sakura didn't get along so well.

"Eriol!" Sakura cried out as though she was happy to see him. "How are you?"

They exchanged a warm hug. "Good. How are you and life? What's moving out on your own like?"

"Oh, you know..." Sakura laughed.

She felt utterly disgusted just sitting across from him. Eriol and Sakura were what you'd consider... _acquaintances_, just mere acquaintances in one another's eyes. They wouldn't call themselves friends; but nor were they enemies. They were just people who knew each other and used one another to their advantages whenever they could. It was like a business merger between those two.

Sakura wasn't sure why she didn't like Eriol. He wasn't a _bad_ guy. Though she had to admit, he was a perfect match for her friend.

"Where's..." Sakura asked, trailing off while looking around the restaurant.

"Restroom."

"Oh." Sakura nodded. "Tell me about him, like what is his business?"

"Oh, er... well, how should I put this?" Sakura watched as the dark haired boy fidgeted with his glasses nervously. "He's an old friend of mine, but we were separated for many years. I've just met up with him recently, and he asked me if I had any recommendations for him... you know?"

"No," she said. "I don't."

"When he asked me, I remembered that you were looking for a secretarial job—"

"So you recommended me?"

"Ah, here he comes now!"

Sakura sighed and reached for her drink, not even bothering to look up. She was drinking her water calmly when she saw who sat down at the table beside her. Water spat everywhere. "You?!"

"Do you two know each other?" Eriol looked at them, back and forth.

"I guess you can say that we're good neighbors." Syaoran said, giving Sakura a little wink.

Sakura merely rolled her eyes. _Crap. I'm going to work for a big fat flirt._

"I guess this will be easy then!" Eriol relaxed into his seat. "I was worried that you two might eat each other alive."

Was it her, or was it getting hot in there? Sakura fanned herself with her hand as she reached for her drink.

"I don't know—I might just eat her up. She certainly looks delicious enough." And if his words weren't enough to kill her, he just _had_ to add the tongue licking bottom lip thing.

She spat out her drink across the table one more time, coughing until her face was beet red.

"Sakura, can't you keep anything in your mouth for one second?" Eriol sighed.

"Or would you like some help?"

Sakura glared at him before turning to Eriol with a disgusted look on her face. "You want me to work for him? Are you out of your mind!?"

"What's wrong with him? He's a nice guy," said the evil four-eyed devil.

"He's going to rape me!"

Syaoran raised his eyebrow in amusement and laughed. Everyone in the restaurant was looking at their table.

Eriol calmly rubbed his temple. "Syaoran is not going to rape you—" he paused to look at the other guy, "—are you, Syaoran?"

"I might." The brown haired man smirked lightly.

"You're not helping, dude." Eriol scolded at him. "Sakura, he is not going to rape you."

Sakura looked at the guy up and down with a cautious look on her face. "Hmph."

"How about it? You need a job, I need a secretary."

"Aren't you a plumber...?" Sakura didn't want to sound like she was looking down at his career. "Why do you need a secretary?"

"Plumbing is just one of my fields," he explained slowly. "I need someone to clean around the apartment, cook, pay the bill, wash my—"

Sakura held her hands up in front of him before he went too far. "It sounds like you need a wife, not a secretary."

"Do you want to apply for the job?" There was something hidden in his voice. "Wife or secretary, who cares."

"I am not going to clean your apartment, cook for you, or wash your whatever!"

"How about I hire you as a secretary and pay you overtime for doing those other things?" Syaoran continued. "I'm willing to pay you the same amount that your previous employers paid you."

At the sound of that, Sakura's brain heard 'Ka-Ching! Ka-Ching!' as dollar signs appeared in her eyes. "Mr. Li Syaoran, you've got yourself a secretary!"

Eriol grinned.

_Hold on__. If he needs someone to clean, cook, and wash for him then why doesn't he just hire a maid? What does he even need a secretary for? __OH MY GOSH! He's planning to rape me!_

"I have one condition though," Sakura said.

"Condition?" Syaoran and Eriol both had the same expression.

Sakura nodded. "I want to have a contract with you, just in case... you know."

Syaoran rolled his eyes. "I'm not going to rape you."

"Your words are as good as Eriol's words," Sakura snorted.

"And what is _that_ suppose to mean?" Eriol glared at her.

"Oh, nothing." She smiled. "So do you agree?"

"Fine. Whatever."

"I'll let you know when I come up with all my terms."

"Alright then," said Syaoran.

Sakura held her hand out for him. "Nice to meet you, . My name is Kinomoto Sakura, and I'll be the best secretary you've ever had."

Syaoran chuckled in amusement. "Please, call me Syaoran... _Sakura._" He took her hand and kissed it ever so lightly. "I'm positive that you will be _my best_."

_Dang it._

She cursed his stupid flirty self. Why did he have to sound so _suggestive_?

zZz

Sakura sighed in annoyance as she listened to Tomoyo on the other line. "Like he said that for real? I have to ask Eriol when he gets home!"

"Tomoyo, I think I just made the wrong choice by placing myself at the tip of the tiger's mouth." Sakura groaned, leaning herself over the counter lazily with a pen in her hand and a piece of paper in front of her.

"He's hot, right?"

"Yeah."

"KAWAII! My little Sakura finally gets a chance to be with a hot guy!"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to be _with_ him, I'm going to work _for_ him. Besides, I'm betrothed... remember?"

"Oh, yeah..."

"He's giving me a really good pay though," she said while fidgeting with the pen in her hand.

She stared down blankly at the piece of paper before her and let out an exasperated sigh. It was too exhausting and bothersome.

"Hey, Tomoyo, he's here. I'll call you later." Sakura said when she heard the doorbell. She placed the phone on the table and quickly went to get the door, greeting a pair of amber eyes.

"You called?"

"I came up with the terms."

"Really?"

"Yup!" Sakura exclaimed excitedly, getting the piece of paper for him to see.

Syaoran glanced at the paper, and then he looked back at Sakura bewilderedly before laughing out lightheartedly. "I didn't think you were being serious!"

"Of course I am!"

"Okay. Okay. Let see..." He started reading over the paper.

**Working Contract**

**1. Li Syaoran WILL NOT attempt to rape Kinomoto Sakura.  
2. Li Syaoran WILL NOT touch her intentionally in any way.  
3. Li Syaoran WILL NOT make a move on her intimately... EVER.  
4. Li Syaoran WILL NOT come within a five feet restriction.  
5. Li Syaoran WILL NOT speak to her about non-work related things.  
6. Li Syaoran WILL NOT invade her privacy bubble.  
7. Li Syaoran WILL NOT break this contract!!!**

Syaoran had a baffled look on his face. "You're serious, aren't you?"

"Yes," she replied.

"Alright, I'll add my part to the contract..." He slapped her on the ass before taking the pen out of her hand. "Since a _contract_ is made between two people."

Sakura watched as he wrote something down on the piece of paper. A few minutes passed, and he was still writing. Gosh, how long were his stupid terms?

"Here you go..." He handed her the little piece of paper.

**8. Kinomoto Sakura CANNOT stop Li Syaoran, even if he wants to rape her.  
9. Kinomoto Sakura CANNOT resist his touches.  
10. Kinomoto Sakura CANNOT deny that she doesn't feel drawn to him.  
11. Kinomoto Sakura CANNOT keep herself away from him.  
12. Kinomoto Sakura CANNOT take her breath off him, let alone speak about anything.  
13. Kinomoto Sakura CANNOT break this contract.  
14. Kinomoto Sakura WILL BE obedient, okay?**

_Unbelievable_—_the nerve of that man!_

Sakura turned around; only to find Syaoran standing in front of the fridge and drinking out of her milk carton.

"So, what do you think?" he asked.

_Breathe in._

_Breathe out._

_Breathe in._

_Breathe out._

She let out a low growl and tore the contract in half.

"**Drop. The. Milk.**"


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm In Love with a Plumber**

* * *

Rule Number Three:  
_Letters start with ABC, Numbers start with 123,  
Music starts with Do Re Mi, but Love starts with You and Me._

**oOo**

"SEE YOU AT WORK TOMORROW!!!!" Syaoran ran out of Sakura's apartment, screaming at the top of his lungs while dodging the flying milk carton that was thrown at him at the same time.

Sakura slammed the door close, fire still burning in her eyes. Who did he think he was, drinking out of her milk carton like that!? He was lucky she didn't rip his heads—er... _head_ off.

_Oh, Kami-sama... why him? Why ME!?_

This was the price she had to pay for trying to make it out on her own. Life sucked ass.

_I need a hot bath._

Sakura grabbed her nightgown off the bed and walked into the bathroom. She turned on the water and let it filled the bathtub. She stood in front of the mirror, and looked at her reflection for a very long time before letting out a heavy sigh of exasperation.

"Sakura. Sakura. Sakura," she said to herself. "You can stare at yourself for hours, but you will still be small no matter what."

_Crap_.

She cursed her rotten luck and her rotten life. Sakura was a _slow_ developer. It had been years since she graduated high school, and her top was still the size of two oranges. She let out another sigh and started to unbutton her blouse. She was halfway done when her phone started ringing. She went to grab the phone from the night table and walked back into the bathroom, resuming to undress herself.

"Moshi moshi," she answered; annoyed.

"Hiya, neighbor!"

Sakura groaned. "Mr. Li, _what_ do you want?"

"Please!" the guy laughed lightly on the other line. "Call me Syaoran, Sakura."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Okay, _Syaoran_, what do you want?"

"I can see your bathroom from my bedroom window!" he exclaimed. "In fact, I find that wearing a black bra under a white blouse is very bold and _sexy_."

Sakura let the phone dropped from her hand, and she quickly ran over to the window. Syaoran waved at her with a bright smile on his face. Sakura pulled the blinds down and banged her head against the wall with steam coming off her head.

She was going to need more than a hot bath.

_Why me...? Why? Why? Why!?_

zZz

"I want to move apartment," Sakura said.

Yue looked up from his morning paper and toast. "What's wrong with the one you're in right now?"

"My neighbor can see my bathroom from his bedroom window."

Yue arched an eyebrow in amusement. "Took you long enough to discover that. I was wondering when you were going to come and complain to me."

"_What!?_"

"I don't have a spare apartment at the moment, but you are welcome to trade with anyone in this building," the man continued slowly. "That is... if you don't get run over by a mob when they find out they can see Li Syaoran's _bedroom_ from your apartment's bathroom."

Sakura groaned. "So I'm stuck with the apartment? What about the other two apartments on my floor?"

"You don't want to live in those apartments," he said. "Just pull the blinds down."

"You know I will have to put up a _black_ blind if I don't want him to see anything—and I mean _ANYTHING_."

Yue rolled his eyes. "You can try to concrete his window or yours."

"Can I?" Sakura asked, hopefully.

"No."

"Then why did you—"

Sakura didn't know why she bothered.

"Have fun at work!" He called out to her as she was walking away.

_Work...? Oh yeah... _Work_._

Sakura hated her life.

"The elevator works now," Yue said when he saw her heading for the staircase. "You don't have to use the stairs any more."

"I'll feel safer taking the stairs," Sakura answered.

She didn't have the guts to take the elevator. Who knows what that man did to fix it. By the time Sakura reached the ninth floor, she was breathing breathlessly. She rested one hand on her knee and the other hand on the wall to hold herself up.

_I really need to start running the treadmill again._

"Sakura?"

_Oh no..._

"Did you come back from your morning run or something?" _Oh_, how she _cursed_ that guy. "Why didn't you use the elevator? It's safe you know."

Sakura snorted. "Remind me again when someone is stuck in it because of your lousy job."

"Lousy?" Syaoran looked at her as if she was crazy. "Is your sink still leaking?"

Sakura was quiet. "S-So?"

"So... is it?" No answer. "Call my work lousy," he scoffed. "Sorry to break it to you, but I do have a Master's degree."

"In plumbing?" Sakura asked.

"I'm not a plumber! Didn't you pay attention to me when I explained it to you at the restaurant?"

Sakura took in a heavy breath and straightened herself up. "You do plumbing so you're a plumber," she said.

Syaoran sighed in defeat. "Just come in," he held the door open for her. "You have a lot of work to do."

"Just to let you know, paperwork isn't a problem for me."

He smirked slightly. "No paperwork today."

"Then what do you want me to do?"

"My housework." Syaoran stepped aside so she could see his apartment. "I tried to do as much as I could this morning so you won't have a lot to do."

Sakura blinked. "T-This is your apartment?!" she screamed in bewilderment. "It's a pigsty!"

"I guess you can call me a pig." Syaoran rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"What do you mean _can_!? You _are_ a living pig!" She turned to look at him in the face. "I'm surprised that _you're_ even clean!"

He pouted childishly. "That hurts, you know."

"Why don't you send a flyer to every female in this building? You'll have your apartment clean in less than a second."

"Because..." he trailed off saying, "I hired you."

Sakura groaned.

"Better get to work, sweetheart." His amber eyes looked her tauntingly. "I'll be in bed if you _need_ me."

Oh, how she wanted to _strangle_ the living hell out of him.

"My bed is big enough for two if you ever get tired and need a place to lie down." He gave her a chaste wink and walked into the bedroom, closing the door behind him.

Sakura's face turned beet red. When her mind finally came back to her, she found herself looking at the close door that separated her and the devil himself. It wasn't until then that she realized he had just made a fool out of her.

"Now, you wait a minut—" Sakura pushed the door open without thinking. Blink. Blink. He let his pants dropped to the floor. "AAAAAAH!!!!"

She slammed the door close and leaned herself against the hard wood, trying to calm her beating heart. "Sakura, get that image out of your head... _NOW_! Forget it. Forget it. Forget it. Forgetting it..." she started mumbling to herself. "NO! I still remember it!"

Sakura suddenly felt herself falling backwards. The next thing she knew, she was being held in his arms. "You know... if you wanted to get a sneak peak, all you had to do was ask me. I would've said yes."

"Get off of me!" she screamed, struggling to get free. "You're breaking our contract!"

"No, my dear..." he said. "_You're_ breaking our contract. I specifically wrote on it that you can't stop me, resist me, or keep yourself from me."

"W-well, the contract is off because I tore it up!" Sakura stuttered.

"Then you have no reason to tell me to stay away, right?"

Sakura blamed herself for being so stupid.

"Oh, god... I can't die like this," she cried quietly. "What will my family say when they find me raped to death?"

_'That Sakura, I knew she wouldn't last on her own.' _She could picture the smug look on her brother's face.. _'Look, she got herself raped.'_

_'My poor daughter...'_ Her father was going to be devastated!

_'Do you think I'd fit into her clothes?'_ ...and then there was her sister-in-law.

"Sakura..." She could feel his hot breath travelling down her neck.

She closed her eyes tightly and waited for the worst to come. His breath was now hovering over her right ear, so warm and so—snap out of it, Sakura!

"Hoeee. I'm going to get raped by a plumber," she whimpered to herself.

Syaoran laughed loudly and let go of his arms around her. He held his arms around his stomach and said, "That was priceless. You should have seen the look on your face!"

Sakura glared at him. "That was mean, scaring me like that!"

"So you _want_ me to rape you?"

"T-That's not what I meant!" Sakura retorted. Then she realized that he was only wearing his boxer and quickly shielded her eyes.

Syaoran looked at her with amusement on his face. "I'll see you after I wake up," he smirked. "Unless you want to get a little _naughty_ and skip work."

He winked at her yet again.

Sakura slammed the door behind her.

_This is stupid Eriol's fault!_

Sakura looked back at the mess and groaned. "This is going to take forever!"

zZz

Two hours later...

Sakura smiled brightly at her ingenious idea. She'd successfully cleaned up his rat hole apartment. She even managed to make herself—not one, but THREE cups of coffee, while enjoying two romantic movies she'd found on his shelf (why he even had such genre was beyond her own knowledge). She was a total genius.

"Good morning, sunshi—" Sakura savored the expression on his face when he opened the door. "WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO MY APARTMENT!"

"I cleaned it," Sakura said proudly. "Like you wanted."

"I didn't ask you to throw EVERYTHING away!" He quickly ran into the kitchen. "YOU THREW EVERYTHING AWAY?!?!"

"Not exactly..." She sipped her coffee enjoyably. "I just asked Yue to throw out the furniture, trashes, shelves, papers, files, fridge, table—oh, and I told him to take away the stove, too, because it was very dirty. You still have everything in your room and bathroom. I even left you the T.V."

Syaoran fell against the wall.

"Oh, the movers will send the bill to you," Sakura continued. "Well, at least now you will get a chance to redecorate your apartment and buy new furniture."

"You..." Syaoran growled under his breath.

Sakura took it as her cue to leave. "Well, you know what? I think I'm going to take my coffee break!"

"**You.**"

"Maybe I'll take the rest of the day off..." Sakura flashed him one of her cutest looks. "See you later, Syaoran!"

And with that, she ran for her apartment as fast as she could.

"YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS!"

The words finally came out of his mouth.

Sakura leaned against her door, feeling something that was between guilt and fear. Maybe she shouldn't have tried to get even with him for messing with her. It was a mean joke to play on him. After all, she did clean out his entire apartment, and half of the things she threw out were somewhat expensive. But then again, she was more scared than guilty. Who knows what that lunatic was going to do to her after she had just provoked him like that.

_Oh, Kami-sama..._

She jumped slightly when her phone started ringing. _Please don't let it be him._

She opened her eyes and looked at the caller I.D.

"Hey," she said in relief.

"What's wrong?" Tomoyo asked immediately. "You don't sound so good."

"That's because I don't feel good at all."

"Are you sick?!"

"No," Sakura sighed. "Are you free for coffee?"

"Yeah."

"I'll see you in a minute then."

"Okay."

Sakura hung up and slowly opened her door. She looked at Syaoran's door cautiously before getting out of her apartment, carefully, making sure not to make any sort of noise that would alert the other man. She practically ran down the flights of stairs. Unfortunately for her, she ended up smacking right into the one person she didn't want to see that moment.

"And where do you think you're going?" he growled.

It was official. Li Syaoran was one hell of a scary dude when he was mad.

_Note to self: Don't make him mad again._

Sakura smiled nervously and quickly ran away.

"Oh, god..." she mumbled to herself while waiting for a taxi. "Please don't tell me he's a serial killer_—_what if he's a killer _and_ a rapist!?"

zZz

Tomoyo laughed after Sakura finished telling her the story. "I can't believe he did that—and you!!"

"I was pissed," Sakura said, groaning inwardly. "And now I regret it so much because who knows what he'll do to me!"

A pair of amethyst eyes looked at her intensely. "I think your new boss has a liking in you, Sakura."

Sakura almost choked on her drink. "You are kidding, right? We hardly know each other!"

"Ever heard of 'love at first sight'? Maybe he fell in love with you the moment you two saw each other," the dark haired girl remarked.

"That is ridiculous!" Sakura snorted at the thought. "Li Syaoran and love at first sight?! That doesn't really go hand in hand... you know?"

"Well, however he may have liked you, I still think he likes you."

"You're supposed to help me, not put more problems into my head."

Tomoyo smiled. "You can try to repay him."

"Tomoyo, if you haven't forgotten, I only have fifteen hundred dollars in my bank account," Sakura continued. "His coffee table costs more than the amount in my bank!"

"And you threw all of his things away?"

"I was pissed! You do stupid things when you are pissed!"

"I think you're the only one that do really stupid things," Tomoyo said. "When people are pissed, they usually take it out on a stress ball."

"Well I don't have a stress ball to take it out on!"

"Okay. Okay. Calm down, I was just saying."

"This is hopeless!" Sakura groaned.

"You can try telling him to deduct it from your pay check."

"At this rate, I won't be getting my pay checks for at least five years."

The girls sighed together. "It's hopeless then," said Tomoyo. "You can try to ask your brother for money, or you can just forget about the whole thing."

"Great advice, Tomoyo."

The other girl giggled. "You're welcome, Sakura!"

"I blame your man for this."

"What about Eriol?" a voice said behind them.

"It's you," Sakura scolded.

"Heard what you did—very brave," the guy smirked.

Sakura snorted. "I'll see you later, Tomoyo."

"Good luck with the problem." The girls exchanged a small hug. "Call me when something new pops up, 'kay?"

"Alright." Sakura got up from her seat. She turned to Eriol dangerously. "And good day to you."

Eriol flashed his signature smile. "I'm sure your day is going a lot better than mine, Sakura."

_Ohhh. I hate you._

zZz

Sakura jammed the keys into the lock and turned the doorknob tiredly. The day hardly ended yet and she was already feeling like dirt off the road. What she needed was a long hot bath to relax herself after a very long, tiring day, and then maybe a bowl of ice cream—chocolate ice cream. Then a cup of warm milk would do the job and brighten her day. Unfortunately, what she DIDN'T need was her next-door neighbor lying on her sofa, eating her ice cream, drinking out of her cup, and holding her remote control in his hand.

"Welcome home, babe."

"W-What are you doing here!?" Sakura screamed.

"I figured you were right about the redecorating thing," he smiled. "It's about time I should redecorate. So, thank you."

"That doesn't explain why you are here and not over there."

"They said construction is going to take at least two weeks and I need to bunk in somewhere."

"You are NOT sleeping here." Sakura glared at him.

Syaoran sulked cutely. "Please? I have nowhere else to go, and I've tried Yue's place. He spat _NO_ to my face, and Eriol lives with his girlfriend."

"NO!"

"You won't throw a helpless person into the cold street, will you?" He put on the most helpless puppy pout. How could anyone resist that? "Just two weeks. I'll sleep on the couch, and I promise to keep my things to my space."

Sakura sighed. "If I agree, then we're even?"

"Of course!"

"You won't try anything while you're living here?"

Syaoran shook his head like an obedient puppy. "I'll be a good _big_ boy."

Sakura shuddered at his words. "Okay, you will have to stop doing that."

"Doing what?" he asked innocently.

"_That_." Sakura replied. "You know... making everything you say sound so suggestive."

"Are you thinking naughty things, Sakura?"

"NO!" Sakura screamed.

He laughed lightly. "Okay. Okay. I'm just teasing."

"Only two weeks?"

"Only two weeks."

"Go get your things then." She had a feeling that she was making the wrong choice, but whatever. As long as she didn't have to repay him for his things, then she was good to go.

Syaoran was licking the ice cream bowl. "No need to. I already have."

Blink. Blink.

How did he even get in...?

Sakura gave up. This guy was a hopeless soul.

"I'm going to take a very long bath," she decided to say. "If you dare to—"

"I'll behave," he smiled.

Sakura gave him one last glare before walking to her room. The first thing she did was to make sure that all of her things were the same as she left them. She paid special close attention to her underwear drawers. Everything seemed to be normal and A-Okay.

She grabbed her nightgown and head for the bathroom.

"Oh, Sakura, I left you a little note sticking to the mirror!" Syaoran called out.

Sakura merely snorted as she locked the door behind her. She placed her clothes down, and took the note he was talking about.

**Letters start with ABC  
Numbers start with 123  
Music starts with Do Re Mi  
Love starts with You and Me.**

_Awww, that is so cute!!!!!!!!!_

Sakura squealed inwardly, and she tore the note into a million tiny pieces.

_If it wasn't coming from Li Syaoran._

Sakura sighed.

_It's going to be two looooooooooooong weeks._


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm In Love with a Plumber**

* * *

Rule Number Four:  
_When living with Li Syaoran,  
Expect everything to be a total disaster._

**oOo**

"Sakura, get up. Sakura!"

Sakura swatted the hand away and pulled the sheet tightly over her head. "Otou-saaaan, go away!"

"Pig." The voice snorted slightly. "Sorry, but she's not waking up. Can I take a message?"

_Hm... that voice. It's so hot..._

Hot.

Sakura snapped her eyes open.

Her father's voice wasn't hot...

"I'll tell her," the voice resumed slowly. "Alright. I'll make sure to give her the message. Oh, I'm her roommate for now."

_My roommate? I have a roommate...?_

Then reality hit her.

"God, you're finally awake!" the brown head said exasperatedly. "By the way, your sister-in-law asked me to remind you that your father is coming home today."

_Oh, yeah. I almost forgot that Otou-san is coming home today._

Sakura suddenly remembered that she had to pick her father up from the airport that afternoon... but how was she going to get a ride? If she had gotten a car for her birthday like she had asked, she wouldn't have any problems, would she?

"Are you feeling okay?"

Sakura just stared at the guy. Something about the picture didn't look right to her. _Something_ wasn't right about that morning...

She quickly glimpsed around the room. All her things were the same. Nothing changed. So what didn't belong there this morning?

"Helloooo?" Her eyes found their way back to the guy standing in the middle of the room with his pink-and-red hearts boxer.

Blink. Blink.

"PERVERT!" she grabbed the pillow and hit him as hard as she could. "GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT!!"

"I'm getting! I'm getting!" Syaoran screamed in pain, running away as fast as he could. "I didn't do anything!"

"PERVERT!" Sakura screamed one more time before slamming her door shut. "Stay out from now on!"

_The nerve of that guy! Argh! Wait_—_does this mean he saw me while I was...?_

_Oh, god... Please don't let me said anything stupid in my sleep._

zZz

"Good morning, sunshine."

Sakura scowled as she came into the living room. "Nothing is good with you around."

"Look. The phone rang. I answered. You didn't get up. I didn't do anything."

"Uh-huh." Sakura rolled her eyes. "Who knows what you did when I was sleeping."

She ignored him and walked over to the kitchen, surprised to find a plate of scrambled eggs sitting on the counter.

_Did he_—?

"I hope you like scrambled eggs," he said from the couch.

Sakura was surprised by his act of kindness. "Uhm... thanks."

She just somewhat stared at the plate in front of her, not sure if she should eat it or not. What if he poisoned it to get back at her for what happened yesterday? He didn't decide to live with her so he could have the opportunity to kill her, did he?

_Oh God..._

"I didn't poison it to kill you."

Sakura snapped out of her thoughts. "Erm... what?"

"I am not trying to kill you or anything."

_Is he psychic or something?_

"And I'm not psychic," he said. "You're just easy to read like an open book."

_Okay... that's just freaky._

_Bet you don't know what I'm thinking right now._ Sakura smiled and poked at the scrambled eggs with a fork.

"Actually I do." Syaoran grinned. "You're thinking that Li Syaoran is a sexy beast."

_Beast... yes. Sexy...?_

Sakura looked at the other guy from the corner of her eye. Chocolate brown hair, amber eyes, tan skin, toned muscles—_CRAP!_ He _was_ a sexy beast. She hated to admit it, but he was one of the few _very_ good-looking guys she had ever seen in her entire life. Now, don't get her wrong. She had seen many good-looking guys, but not all of them were—how would you put this? Erm... Let's just say Li Syaoran beat three-quarter of those guys by a gap as wide as the distance between the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. Of course, she couldn't let him know that she thought he was '_sexy_', or else she would never hear the end of it.

"Oh, _please_. You're anything but sexy!"

_Nice cover, Sakura. That should do it. Yup. You are brilliant!_

"I'm _anything_ but sexy?" Sakura feared the look in his eyes. _Oh, crap_. What was he going to say next? Why did he turn around all of a sudden to look at her with _that_ look in his eyes? The look that said 'Oh, you're going to regret saying those words'. The evil, conniving look on his face caused Sakura to chew the scrambled eggs in her mouth nervously. "Are you also saying that I am... _fuckable_?"

Sakura put a hand over her mouth to stop the mushy scrambled eggs from flying out. She turned to glare at him in disgust, but he only gave her a look that said 'You only brought this upon yourself'. She sighed reluctantly. She guessed she did bring the situation on herself. She knew better to choose her words carefully whenever she was around _him_. That man was unbelievable!

He was born with the gift to turn something perfectly normal into something utterly perverted and twisted in the mind.

"I hope you're not going to be like this all day long," said Sakura, forcing herself to swallow the mush in her mouth. "Dealing with your perverted comments isn't part of my job."

"Perverted?" He turned around to look at her again. "Me? I haven't even said a single thing that's perverted! It's your mind, Sakura, that's thinking on its own."

"That comment you just made!" Sakura argued.

"The one about me being fuckable?" he asked.

"Yes. And don't use that word ever again!"

He smirked and got up from the couch.

"What are you...?" Sakura slowly backed up against the stove as he approached her. "Don't get any closer!"

Within the blink of an eye, Sakura was trapped between the stove and Syaoran's body. He didn't show any indications of letting her go any time soon since he had firmly positioned himself in front of her. He held her waist with one of his hands and slowly brushed her cheek with the other hand. Sakura felt her breaths getting heavier and her heart was beating faster than normal rate. The distance between them was shrinking slowly and his face was merely centimeters away from hers.

"I'm only stating the facts. Don't tell me you don't find me..." the scent of his breath brushed her nose imperceptibly. "_...irresistible._"

_Coffee and cream._

Sakura gathered all of her willpower and jammed her knee where it would hurt him most. She watched him let out a loud 'Fuck!' and crouched down on the floor, holding himself in pain. "I warned you," she said.

"Are you trying to stop me from reproducing or something!?" Syaoran started rolling on the floor. "Oh... _god_."

Sakura knelt down beside him. "Does it hurt a lot?" she poked him on the side.

"You try carrying an extra weight between your legs and let me kick it."

Sakura felt bad. "It was your fault," she said and stood up slowly. "Well, I'm going to go take a shower."

She turned to look at him again. His head lay between his knees and his hands desperately held _that_ area. She felt really guilty. She didn't think she had kneed him that hard... did she? If she did, then she didn't mean to. It was an accident.

Sakura finished her shower about half an hour later. She walked back out into the living room and found Syaoran where she had last left him, sprawled over the floor, moaning in pain. Did it really hurt _that_ much to be hit in that area? 

_How bad could it be?_

Apparently, it was really bad.

"I'll go get the mail," she said. "Do you want me to get yours too?"

"Uh-huh," his voice was coarse and achy. _Was he crying?_ She asked herself as she closed the door behind her.

Sakura decided that Syaoran was a weak man. After all, she had kicked Touya so many times in that area whenever he would pick on her, but he didn't crouch down on the floor and cry. Touya would just punch Sakura hard in the chest, and she would huddle in a little corner and—_Ohh... so _that's_ what it feels like to be hit down there._

"Good morning," Yue greeted her at the main lobby. "Do you have any problems today?"

"Do I always have a problem?" Sakura asked, wondering what he'd even meant by that. He sounded as though she always bothered him with a problem. It wasn't like she had a problem every day.

Yue shrugged. "You tell me."

Sakura quickly grabbed her mails from her mailbox. "Yue, what's Syaoran's combination?"

"You're getting his mails?"

"He's having a problem right now." Sakura smiled weakly.

"His birthday," the guy replied, "Zero-seven-one-three."

"July 13th?" Sakura said. "What kind of cornball puts his birthday as his combination anyway?"

Yue snorted. "You should be talking, Miss New Year. Zero-one-zero-one."

"Hey! It's easy to remember!" Sakura retorted, trying to hide her embarrassment. It _was_ easy to remember.

Sakura decided that all guys were a meanie-butt. First, it was Touya, then Eriol, then Syaoran, and now Yue, too. What did she ever do to them? Why were they always so mean to sweet little her? She was _harmless_!

Her eyes nearly popped out when she opened Syaoran's mailbox. "Did he even get his mails in the last fifty years?!" She scolded, wondering how she was going to carry that many mails up nine flights of stairs.

"Those are his mails in one day."

"You're kidding right?" Sakura rolled her eyes. "What are they... love mails?"

"Actually, they are."

Sakura scoffed. "Does he even read them?"

"Here." Yue handed her a plastic bag.

"Thanks," said Sakura, relieved that she didn't have to haul the stupid mails in her arms. "By the way, can I ask for your advice?"

The older man gave her a strange look. "It's not about 'that time of the month', is it?"

"O-Of course not!"

He sighed. "Okay, what is it?"

"How does a guy ease up the pain when he gets hit in _that_ area?" she asked shyly.

Yue just stared at her for a moment before laughing his ass out. "You hit him _there_!?"

Five minutes later...

Yue was still laughing like there was no tomorrow. Sakura sighed and walked towards the staircase, ignoring the idiot. He didn't even give her any advice on the matter. Now she was going to have to deal with Syaoran once she got back to the apartment, and worse... she was going to have to _apologize_.

_Oh, Kami-sama, kill me now._

"Syaoran, look I got your—" 

He was gone.

She supposed it was a good thing that he wasn't sprawled over the floor in pain. But where in world was that man? She had to apologize to him. Otherwise, she would feel guilty all day long, and she hated that feeling!

She dropped the mails on the table.

"Syaoran?" She knocked on the bathroom door. "Syaoran?"

"Go away, Sakura."

"Aww, don't be like that!" Sakura said. "I just came to apologize."

"Okay. Apology accepted."

"Are you okay?" she asked. It didn't sound like he was taking a shower, and there wasn't any other sound in the bathroom either. Sakura put her ears to the door and listened quietly for any sort of movement from the inside. He wasn't committing suicide, was he?

Why would he want to commit suicide anyway? Just because she might have damaged his equipment to reproduce, he could still have sex. Sex without the risk of having childrenhow many men would want to be in his shoes! He shouldn't want to commit suicide for that. He should be thanking her!

"Shit!" She heard a loud curse on the other side.

"Syaoran, what are you doing in there?" Sakura asked and knocked on the door again. "You're not doing anything stupid, are you? I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean to kick you that hard, but it was partly your fault for coming on to me like that. You know how I am. I get jumpy easily, and then I panic. When I panic—"

"Sakura, not _now_."

"'Kay, we'll talk when you get out."

Just when she was turning to walk away, she heard a very familiar tune coming from inside the bathroom. Why was her cell phone in the bathroom? Oh, that was right. She brought it in there when she was taking her shower to call her aunt. She must have left it in there after she took her shower.

"Sakura, your damn cell phone is getting on my nerves!"

Moron's instinct took over her body. She pushed the bathroom door open and walked in as if it was nothingthe surprising part was that the door wasn't even locked.

"Sorry, I must've forgotten it in here this morning," she quickly grabbed her cell phone. "Are you feeling any better...?"

What she should have done was to grab her cell phone and quickly run out of the bathroom, but _noooooo_—she just _had_ to turn and look at him.

Blink. Blink.

Why was he sitting on the toilet with his pants off, and his hands on his—?

"Oh, _Kami-sama_." 

Luckily for Sakura, the carpet was soft so she didn't damage her head when she fainted.

_Note to self: If a guy tells you to go away when he's alone in the bathroom, he meant: DO NOT COME IN._

zZz

Sakura slowly opened her eyes.

"Hey, you okay?" Syaoran's face was hovering a few inches above hers. "You went out like a light bulb."

_I did...?_

It took a few seconds for everything to come back to her. She was standing outside the bathroom, then her cell phone rang, she went in to get it, and she saw him _doing stuff._ Oh, God. The sight of ungodliness had tainted her eyes. Fathers above, please forgive her for the turpitude the evil bastard bestowed upon her pure, innocent eyes.

"You sick, _sick_ man!" she growled at him.

"I was not jacking off!" He defended himself.

"Then what were you doing in my bathroom!?" Sakura demanded for an explanation. How dare he jack off in _her_ bathroom! Now she would have to clean it before using it again.

"Examining myself after the damage you inflicted on my poor body," he replied in a monotone voice as if he was saying 'DUH!' to her face.

"Really?" she asked.

"Yes," he groaned and rubbed his temples slowly. "You sound like it was the first time you've seen a guy's—"

Sakura quickly looked away. It _was_ her first time seeing _that_. He started laughing. "I don't see what's so funny," she said; irritated that she was treated this way. She didn't see why she had to be laughed at just because she was still in her little pod. It just showed that she had morals and integrity... _Dang_. She was truly pathetic.

_Okay. Sakura, you are not normal._ She told herself. _Normal girls do not stand and think to themselves when a guy is laughing his ass in front of them because she's still a virgin._

He finally calmed down a little. "Okay. Okay. Sorry," he was now chuckling. "Since you've never seen a you-know-what, I take it that you've never had sex either."

Sakura just glared at him.

"You're still a virgin!?" Could he scream it any louder?

Thank the Lord they were the only ones living on that floor. And was it such a surprise to him that she was a virgin? Did he think that she had probably slept with fifty different guys or something like that? 

"Wow. I've never met a virgin before," he mused quietly to himself.

_Okay, just _what _is his problem?_

Really... What normal guy would stand in front of a girl and say to himself that he had never met a virgin before? Li Syaoran was _not_ a normal guy.

"Your boyfriends never pressured you?" he continued to ask.

Sakura looked away again, hiding her embarrassment. Why was she even having this conversation with the man? Why were they discussing her love relationship all of a sudden, when they should be discussing why he didn't bother to lock the freaking door?

"How old are you again?"

"21," she replied shortly.

"And you've never had a boyfriend?"

"I never said I never had a boyfriend!" Sakura retorted.

He raised his eyebrow with interest. "Oh, how many?"

_C'mon, Sakura. It's not _that _hard to come up with a stupid number!_

He laughed.

"Shut up! It's none of your business!" Sakura stood up and pushed him away. She grabbed her purse off the chair, and stormed out of the apartment.

"Sakura!" He called out after her.

"I don't want to talk to you any more. Go away, you meanie-butt!"

Okay, so maybe that wasn't the _mature_ way to handle the situation, but honestly... what did you expect from her?

"Don't you mean my sexy butt?"

Sakura turned around to glare at him. "You are so immature!"

He snorted. "You should be talking," he mumbled under his breath. "Look, I was just asking. How was I supposed to know you're so touchy about people knowing about your love life? ... or your _zero_ love life."

She scolded at him before walking away again. "Stop following me!"

"I'm not following you," he grinned. "We just happen to walk in the same direction."

Oh, she would do anything to get away from him at that moment—_anything_. Therefore, she did something she never thought she would do: Sakura got into the elevator without thinking about her action. She just wanted to get away from him, far away from him—as far away as possible. Unfortunately, he slid into the elevator just before it closed.

"Hi, again," he said to her, smiling ever so cutely. "We were meant to be, I tell you."

Sakura scowled and turned away from him. "Don't talk to me."

"Don't be like this!"

And at that moment, God, being the kind and giving man that he was, decided to make miracles happen. The elevator stopped moving. 

On the other hand, maybe it was just the fact that Syaoran did a lousy job on fixing the darn contraption. Whichever reason it was, the conclusion was still the same: they were stuck in the elevator until Yue decided to get his lazy ass up and fix the darn thing.

"I'm a little busy right now," the silver haired man said when Syaoran called him for help. "I'll tell the maintenance guy to come and get you two out after the movie marathon is over."

Syaoran smacked himself in the face. "Yue... _I'm_ your damn maintenance guy."

"Is that you, Syaoran?!" the man laughed. "I'll figure something out after the movie marathon."

And with that, he hung up.

"Oh, god..." Sakura groaned. She pulled out her cell phone and decided to call Tomoyo. "Hey, can you do me a huge favor? Pick Otou-san up from the airport for me." She turned to give Syaoran a dangerous look. "I have to deal with the devil at the moment. Thanks. Bye-bye."

Sakura cursed her stupid luck, yet again. Oh, Kami-sama... could the day get any better?

"This won't happen next time," he turned to say to her sweetly, "I promise."

_Next time?_

There was going to be a 'next time'?

Over her dead body.


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm In Love with a Plumber**

* * *

Rule Number Five:  
_Life has a very capricious nature.  
Expect the unexpected._

**oOo**

_I can't believe this is happening to me._

_Why me of all people?_

_Why me?!_

Sakura banged her head into the wall repetitively.

_What did I do to deserve this? Why, Kami-sama, why!?_

Syaoran sighed and scooted over to sit beside her. "Don't hurt yourself." He put his arms around her.

"Get away!" Sakura screamed and pushed him into the opposite wall. "Nothing good happens with you around!"

"I'm... err... sorry?"

Sakura scorned at him. "Did God send you down here to torture me?"

"He didn't say those words exactly." He smiled sheepishly. "God just told me to come down here to find my angel."

_How can he flirt at a time like this!?_

How she loathed the man with a strong passion. And where the hell was Yue? They called him for help three _hours_ ago! How long was the stupid movie marathon anyway? Sakura growled in annoyance when Syaoran found his way beside her again—he was getting too close for his own sake.

"Tell me about your family."

"Okay," she rubbed her temples. "Why. The. Hell. Would. I. Do. That?"

"Because you're bored and I'm bored." He made it sound so easy, like it was nothing for her to tell someone she barely knew stuffs about her family.

Sakura decided 'what the hell?'. It couldn't hurt all that much right? And the other guy did have a very good point; they were both bored out of their minds.

"Otou-san is an archaeologist so he's away from home most of the time," Sakura started saying. "Before moving out, I lived with my brother and sister. In a way, things kind of worked out 'cause Nee-chan wants children, but Nii-chan doesn't want to deal with babies crying or pooping. And let's just be honest here, I'm still a baby by nature."

The two laughed. "Sounds like you have a very nice family," Syaoran remarked.

"Hm... yeah. I do," Sakura smiled softly. "What about you?"

"Pop ran off when he found out my mom was pregnant, and mom had her last breath a few years ago."

"I'm sorry..."

He just smiled.

"You've been living by yourself?"

Syaoran nodded. "I have a cousin, but I only see her sometimes. She's trying to make it out on her own like you—a runaway princess."

Sakura made a weird face when he called her that. "I didn't run away! I chose to move out for your information."

He only chuckled. "Okay, you're not a runaway."

"Thank you!" Sakura stuck her tongue out at him.

"I would stop doing that if I were you," he said. "I might just kiss you if you keep doing that."

She punched him in the arm. "You just had to ruin the moment, didn't you? We were starting to bond with each other, but you had to open your perverted mouth!"

"We were bonding?"

"We talked, and that's consider bonding."

"Interesting..."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Where in the world is Yue!?"

"Sitting in front of his TV probably." Syaoran stretched his arms and yawned loudly. "I'm going to take a nap, wake me up when someone gets here."

He put his hands behind his neck and closed his eyes. Sakura observed the man closely. She had never really looked at his profile before, because she was either too busy avoiding him or trying to keep his hands off of her. But he had a really pretty face—not like girl pretty, but male pretty. His face was pretty for a guy. His skin was flawless.

_Maybe I should ask him what kind of cleansing system he uses..._

He had long beautiful eyelashes, a tall nose, and a perfectly handsome face. If he wasn't such a stupid pervert all the time, Sakura might say that he was the perfect man of her dreams. And the fact that he was a plumber. Well, there was nothing wrong with him being plumber—he was just a _horrible_ plumber.

Sakura thought that he wasn't half-bad. They had a nice little conversation and that must've counted for something, right? He actually sounded quite _nice_ and _normal_.

"I can't sleep with you staring," his voice said all of a sudden.

Sakura snapped out of her thoughts. "I wasn't staring!" She denied, quickly turning away.

She took in a deep breath and waited for a perverted comeback from him, but it never came. He just rolled over to his side with his back facing her and snored.

_Kami-sama..._

Sakura sighed.

_He__s definitely something._

She couldn't believe that she was actually stuck in an elevator with the one man she didn't want to be close with—not to mention he was her stupid "boss". That wasn't normal. She turned to look at the other guy from the corner of her eye and sighed. If she didn't know better, she would've mistaken him for an _angel_; but he was far from that. He was anything but an angel, and he was definitely not whatever the word he had used. Okay… maybe he was somewhat "you-know-what".

While looking at him, something reminded her of the note he had written her and she started wondering. She wasn't sure what she was wondering about—just some random things, she supposed.

"Hey, Syaoran…" she poked him gently. "I need to ask you something."

He stirred a little, but she wasn't sure if he was waking up or not.

"Get up!"

He finally turned to look at her with one eye open. "Yeah?"

"That note from last night…" Sakura trailed off saying, feeling somewhat embarrassed about asking him on the subject. It wasn't like she cared for the note or anything like that. She just wanted to know because she was stuck in an elevator and she was bored out of her mind. She _did not_ think anything out of the note. "What did you mean by it?"

"The poem?" He sat up slightly.

"Yeah."

"Eriol told me the poem yesterday, meant to be a gift for his girlfriend or something," he answered. "I just wanted to see your reaction. Why?"

"Oh, n-nothing," she said. "Go back to sleep."

Sakura got up and moved to the opposite corner. For some strange reason, she felt a little sad—no, more like _disappointed_ by his answer. Why? Did she expect something from the note?

She didn't really _expect_ something from it. It was just that no one had given her a _love_ poem before. She supposed the note made her feel a little… _special_.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

She nodded. "Yeah."

"Do you want to hear a secret?" He smiled at her all of a sudden.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I might have a crush on you."

Sakura almost choked on thin air. Her mouth hung wide open, but words couldn't escape her lips. He looked back at her with an inexplicable expression on his face. She couldn't make out what his expression meant. The air became very awkward around them. 

Sakura nearly jumped in joy when the elevator started moving again. Finally, after hours and hours of being locked in the darn thing, she could get out of there—get away from him.

She felt uncomfortable standing beside him after what he had just said. But he, on the other hand, didn't seem bothered him at all. How could it not bother him? He just half confessed that he liked her!

The elevator stopped on the ground floor, and Sakura quickly scurried her little feet along, hoping to get away from him as fast as possible. He called after her. Sakura told herself to walk—no... _run_ faster. Unfortunately, she collided into someone else.

"Watch where you're going!" the girl sneered coldly when her groceries fell everywhere.

Sakura rubbed her bottom painfully. "Hooeee..."

"Sakura!" Guess who came running to her side. Yup—boy, wasn't she lucky? "Are you hurt?"

"Not really..." she answered.

"Next time watch where you're running, baka." He hit her on the head lightly. "Didn't you hear me calling for you? You left your purse in the elevator."

Sakura smiled nervously. Okay, so maybe she overreacted thinking that he was trying to stalk her because he semi-liked her. Nothing was wrong with that right? Every woman have the right to overreact at least five times a day.

"Syaoran?"

They stopped talking to each other and turned to look at the girl Sakura practically ran over. Sakura thought the other girl looked familiar. How did she know Syaoran? They weren't dating, were they?

"What are you doing here?" Syaoran asked.

"I bought groceries for you," the black haired girl answered, glaring dangerously at Sakura.

_Where have I seen her before...?_

"YOU!" Sakura finally recognized the girl's face. "You're that rude cashier from the café!"

"_Rude?_" the other girl's eyebrow twitched slightly. She looked at Syaoran and said, "I usually don't care who you sleep around with, but I have to question your taste on this one." Sakura didn't like the way the other girl was looking up and down at her. "Her body isn't all that good either. What do you see in this girl?"

"_Excuse me!_" Sakura was infuriated by the insults. "Who do you think you are!?"

The black head smiled. "I'm only trying to show you how rude I am."

Syaoran suddenly took a step forward and stood between the girls. "Meiling, this is Sakura. _Kinomoto_ Sakura." Then he turned to look at Sakura. "Meiling is my cousin," he explained.

Sakura just blinked. Meiling had a shock expression on her face. 

"I'll explain later." Syaoran rubbed his temples. "Let's not talk in the lobby."

He picked up the groceries and led the black haired girl away. He stopped and looked at Sakura. "Aren't you coming?" he asked.

"I have to go see my Otou-san," Sakura answered. "I might not come home tonight."

"Oh, okay." He just shrugged his shoulders and walked away without another word.

Sakura stood there and watched the other two left, laughing and talking. Meiling suddenly locked her arms around Syaoran's after he had said something that was very funny, apparently. Sakura didn't understand the slight disappointment inside of her. Why did she even care?

She quickly brushed the thoughts away, deciding that she had better things to do than wonder about that stupid flirty—she stopped and took in a deep breath.

zZz

"Otou-san!" Sakura embraced her father as soon as she ran into the room. "I missed you so much!"

"I missed you too, dear," her father said softly. "Were you busy this afternoon?"

"I had… erm… a problem." Sakura decided that it wouldn't be such a good idea to tell her father about a certain temporary roommate of hers. He would flip out of his mind and put her under house arrest, considering that she was somewhat living with another man when she was to be wed soon. Just thinking about the whole betrothal thing gave her a headache.

"How are you coping with living on your own?" he asked.

Sakura smiled. "It's an interesting experiment. I found myself a job!"

"Really? What kind of job?"

"I work as a secretary for a plumb—" Sakura caught herself. "My boss is a… erm…" She tried to find the word that Syaoran had used. Darn. Maybe it didn't hurt to attention to the man when he was explaining his occupation to her.

Sakura screamed in her mind. Her father would flip if he found out that his daughter was working for a plumber. Sakura searched in her mind for a different word for 'plumber'. Where was a thesaurus when she needed one?

"Sakura?" her father looked at her with concern. "Are you feeling okay? You seem awfully nervous."

Sakura smiled. "Yes, erm…I..er..."

"I'd like to meet your boss in the future," said her father. "We'll discuss this topic later. Sakura, I want to talk to you about the betrothal."

Sakura exhaled. "Great," she muttered softly under her breath.

"I know you're not happy about this at all…" he trailed off saying.

_Of course, I__m not happy!_

How could she be happy marrying someone she had never met, not mention she didn't love the guy! 

_Marriage without love is like a piece of Swiss cheese__it stinks!_

Sakura got so absorbed in her own thoughts that she tuned out her father completely. "…he wants to have lunch with you tomorrow."

She felt as though a thunderbolt hit her.

"W-What?"

"Sakura..." Her father looked at her gently, begging her to listen to him. "Please _show up_."

"Hai, Otou-san..." she agreed quietly. "I'll show up."

Fujitaka gave his daughter a warm hug, and kissed her on the forehead lightly. "I'll go make you something to eat."

Sakura sighed exasperatedly after her father left the room. She leaned back in her seat and arched her head back slightly as she stared blankly at the ceiling. In less than twenty-four hours, she was going to be able to see her fiancé's face. Sakura knew that she should be excited. After all, she was finally going to meet the man she had to spend the rest of her life with.

For some strange reason, Sakura felt very void inside, like there wasn't any kind of emotions going through her. She couldn't think of a word to describe how she felt, but it was something _strange_.

She lay down on the sofa, thinking that she could take a little nap until the food was ready.

As she slowly closed her eyes, _he_ crossed her mind all of sudden, and she could hear his words echoing in her mind.

_'I might have a crush on you_.'


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm In Love with a Plumber**

* * *

Rule Number Six:  
_Never judge a book by its cover,  
Cause you'll never know what's behind those hidden pages._

**oOo**

Sakura didn't get a good night sleep at all last night. She kept turning back and forth in bed for some strange reason. She couldn't bring herself to fall asleep as a certain _something_ kept lingering in her mind, but she didn't know what it was that had bothered her.

She left her house right after she woke up, skipping her father's breakfast altogether, which was somewhat a shock to both her and her father. Sakura had never skipped her father's breakfast—it just wasn't normal.

The cab pulled up slowly in front of the rotten, raggedy apartment building as Sakura stepped out hesitantly. She took in a deep breath and walked inside, wondering to herself what her so-called roommate was doing at that hour. Did he even notice that she wasn't back yet? Did he care at all? If he did, then why should she have cared? It wasn't like she cared whether he cared that she cared that he cared... Okay, enough.

_What are his words doing to my mind!?_ She practically screamed aloud.

As soon as Sakura stepped into the lobby, she was greeted with a horrifying sight in front of her eyes. In the midst of the commotion was her brown haired roommate, shoved and pushed; not to mention suffocated between the gifts and the women that swarmed around him like a pack of hungry wolves. Syaoran met Sakura's eyes out of all the females that stood in the room. For some strange reason, Sakura's face started to heat up a bit just meeting his eye contact. His expression begged her to help him.

Sakura turned her head away, pretending that she didn't see anything. _Serves you right for being such a daggon player._

"Li-san, we heard you got stuck in the elevator yesterday," one woman said. "You must've been so scared! I made you chicken soup."

Sakura snorted in her mind. _Puh-lease! Chicken soup? He was stuck for like a few hours, not like he caught the flu._

"Try my green herb," another said quickly. "It helps to sooth your mind."

"Ladies, I am very grateful," Syaoran attempted to say. "But I can't accept your gifts."

"Why not?"

"Don't you like it?"

Sakura grinned evilly and started to walk away. 

_Li Syaoran, feel the evil claws of women._

She waved cutely to Syaoran as she walked by. 

_Ohh that sure made my day._

zZz

Sakura walked out into the living room with a dry towel around her neck, just in time to see Syaoran slammed the door close as he came running into the apartment. He leaned against the door, breathing breathlessly like a dog had been chasing him.

"Aren't you having a good morning?" She couldn't help but to tease him a little.

He sent her a quick glance over and arched his eyebrow into the air slightly. "Why are you so dressed up?"

Sakura looked down at her plunge terry tube and gave him a confused look. "Is the dress ugly?"

"N-no, it's not that." He started to stutter a bit. "Just why are you so... erm... dressy?"

"Can't I be?" was her answer before she turned around to walk towards the bathroom.

"C'mon, I can keep a secret." He followed her, standing in the doorway with his arms across his chest as he observed her slowly. "So, when is the date?"

Sakura plugged the curling iron into the outlet and started blow-drying her hair while she waited for it to heat up. "Can I take a few hours break at noon?"

"So you do have a date." He said, amused. Sakura didn't bother asking him what he had even meant by that. She just rolled her eyes and drowned his voice behind the sound of the hair dryer. "Straightener."

She turned the hair dryer off. "What?"

"You'll look better in that dress with straight hair," he said. And with those last words, he walked away casually.

Sakura looked at herself in the mirror, finding it hard not to laugh at his words. Like she should listen to him. What did he know? Hah!

Ten minutes later...

"Like this?" she asked as she went out into the living room.

Syaoran looked up from the bikini magazine he was reading and smirked ever so cunningly. "Perfect." He smiled.

_Sakura, you're so pathetic._ She told herself, not understanding why she even bothered to take his advice. His _stupid_ little advice; which turned out to be _not_ so stupid after all.

"So who's your date?" he asked again.

Sakura sighed and fell into the armchair. "My fianc—someone," she quickly caught herself. She couldn't tell him she was betrothed. She didn't know why it even mattered, not like she and the man had any sort of _relationship_ with each other. He was just an annoying, pesky neighbor slash boss.

He shrugged. "Whatever."

Sakura waited for him to continue.

"This is coming off your pay check."

She knew he was being _too_ nice.

"Fine." She groaned. "I'll just take a sick day then. I get pay for sick days, right?"

He chuckled. "Do you think I'm filthy rich to pay you sick days?"

No sick days?

"What about holidays?"

"You never know when those pipes and drains are going to need fixing."

What had she gotten herself into? What was he—a workaholic? God, he knew how to work a slave! ... Wait... that didn't come out right at all. It sounded so _wrong_ now that she replayed those words in her mind. Heavens, his mind was contagious!

"Do you always do that?"

She snapped out of her thoughts. "What?"

"Do... _that_." He looked at her strangely. "Like, you know, space out while having a conversation with someone."

"Sometimes..."

He went back to reading his magazine. Sakura observed him quietly from where she was sitting. She didn't know why, but she was hoping to get some sort of reaction from him that morning. 

She wondered if he even remembered what he'd said to her in the elevator. Was it just a joke to him? It seemed as though the words didn't mean anything to him. Maybe she was right to think that he was a player. After all, his cousin casually implied that he slept around a lot, so why should she be surprised at all if he was only playing her? It was expected from him.

"I meant what I said," his voice came out of nowhere again.

She couldn't see his face behind the magazine. "What?"

"What I said in the elevator," he continued. "I meant it."

"H-how?" She meant to ask 'how is it possible' but the words dangled around in her throat.

He shrugged, still hiding behind the magazine. "I just do."

Sakura looked down at the floor with confused eyes. "D-don't toy with me."

"It's almost noon," he said instead, quickly changing the subject. "You should go."

She thought that it was a good thing for her to do at that moment—leave. 

She reached for her purse and stood up slowly, walking over to the door. Silence filled the room as her footsteps echoed throughout. She turned around to look at the back of his head and left, silently.

zZz

"Miss Kinomoto!"

Sakura scanned around the room for the person that was calling out her name when she stepped into the restaurant. She spotted a black haired guy waving to her from the right corner. Sakura squinted her eyes a little to look at his features.

_Wonderful. Black hair and bookworm looking._

Nakuru didn't lie after all. Sakura took in a deep breath before walking over to his direction. She put on the fakest smile in the entire universe when he stood up to pull out a chair for her.

"Thank you," she said gratefully and took her seat. "Did you have to wait long?"

"I just got here myself," the guy replied politely. "Miss Kinomoto, would you like to drink anything?"

"Water, please."

Sakura watched as he called the waiter over to order their drinks. She had to admit that he was a gentleman. Maybe being betrothed to him wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. For one thing, this guy was much better than that _Li Syaoran_.

She quickly gathered her thoughts together. Why did she think of him all of a sudden? And what was with the comparison?! _Of course_ Syaoran couldn't beat _this_ guy—a graduate from an Ivy League school. Or was it the other way around...? Syaoran was better looking, though. 

She told herself to snap out of it.

"Miss Kinomoto..."

Sakura cringed at the formality. Weren't they engaged?

"You can call me Sakura."

"Miss Kinomoto..."

_He's really persistent, isn't he?_

"Sakura." She told him again, annoyance clearly visible in her voice.

"Sakura," he took the hint. "My boss—"

What was his boss doing in their first conversation?

"He asked me to pass the words that he will see you three months from now." He paused when the waiter brought out the drinks. He waited for the waiter to leave before speaking again. "I apologize on behalf of my boss because he can't make it today. He feels that it is still too early to meet you, and he asks to push your meeting date to three months."

Sakura put her hand up to stop him. "W-wait... you're not my fiancé?!" He shook his head. "Then who the hell are you, and why am I sitting at the same table with you if you're not him!?"

"My name is Fujiwara Koji," he said calmly. "I am Mr—your fiancé's assistant."

_So Touya and Nakuru were talking about the assistant?_

_This is so frustrating._ "So... what's his name?"

Koji smiled politely. "I'm sorry, Miss Kinomoto, but I'm only a messenger. You will have to ask your family."

"Can you tell me what is the deal with all this secrecy stuff?" Sakura asked. "I know he lived in America most of his life—_oh my god_, he's not like one of them Mr. Smith or James Bond guy, is he?"

He laughed. "I'm afraid my boss is far, _far_ from that."

"So... you're not him?"

He shook his head.

_Great._ She dressed up for nothing. "Want to have lunch with me anyway?"

He smiled. "I can't tell you anything, Miss Kinomoto."

"Can you tell me what he's like?" she said. "Like, what is it like working for him?"

"He loves to work."

"Sounds like somebody I know."

"Strict, but good to employees."

"What about his history... relationship wise?"

"You will have to ask him about that when you see him," the black head replied good-humoredly. "It's my loss that I can't have lunch with you, Miss Kinomoto, but I have to get back to work. Is there a message you would like me to give to him?"

Sakura shook her head. "It was nice meeting you, Koji."

"The pleasure was mine, miss."

"And please call me Sakura."

He stood up with a smile. "Hope you will have a great day, Miss Sakura."

Sakura sighed after he walked away. Well, it was better than being called 'Miss Kinomoto', right? Definitely. She glanced down at her watch and frowned slightly. She left the apartment about half an hour ago. It would be so embarrassing if she went back to the apartment like this.

_Great_. She reached for the menu on the table. She nearly screamed in horror when she saw the price. Who was stupid enough to pay 13.95 for a freaking chicken salad? What was the stupid chicken salad made of? Diamonds?!

Sakura decided that it was better for her bank account if she chose to eat at some cheap diner or fast food place. She started walking slowly down the street, not sure where she was going. She just let her feet did the walking, leading her to wherever they wanted her to go. 

After walking for a little while, she found herself standing in front of the coffee shop that Syaoran's cousin worked at. She took in a deep breath and pushed the door open slowly, stepping inside as she tried to look for the other girl. Rather than finding the black head, she saw a far more entertaining subject.

_His_ eyes slowly met hers, and he quickly grabbed a menu off the table to hide his face behind it. Sakura rolled her eyes before turning her attention to the girl that was sitting beside him at the table, her hands on his thigh.

She scoffed and walked over to the counter. Meiling walked out from the back room.

"Hey," Sakura greeted.

Meiling seemed surprised to see her. "Oh. My. God. That looks so cute!"

Sakura smiled. "Thanks."

"Do you want anything?"

"Cup of coffee is nice."

The black head smiled at her. "Coming right up!"

Sakura turned her head around slightly to look at a certain brown haired man. He seemed to be enjoying himself, which was disgusting. She rolled her eyes in utter repulsion when she saw the other girl twirled her finger around his hair.

"Nasty sight, huh?"

Sakura snapped out of her thoughts. "Hoe?"

"I don't know how he can deal with girls like her," the black head scowled. "I know he goes around, but the least he can do is flirt with someone that's at least more dignify."

"Does he… sleep around a lot?" Sakura didn't know why she wanted to do know in the first place.

Meiling looked at her for a brief second before placing the cup of coffee on the counter. "He's a very faithful man once he finds someone he wants to commit to."

"Has he found that someone yet?"

The black head giggled. "Why? Are you interested?"

"Of course not!" Sakura tried to hide her blush. "I was just wondering because he's such a flirt all the time. It's kind of hard to imagine him being committed to one person, you know."

"Hey, Sakura, sorry about the other day." The other girl started saying slowly. "I just thought that you were another one of them."

Sakura just smiled. Maybe Li Meiling wasn't so bad; she might actually grow to like the girl.

"It's alright," Sakura replied. "Syaoran told me that you are trying to make it out on your own."

"Got fed up with living under family restrictions."

Sakura giggled. "Tell me about it."

"I suppose I'm more fortunate than you though," Meiling smiled. "Working at a coffee shop is better than working as a secretary for my cousin any day!"

"You can say that again." Sakura mumbled under her breath. "Your cousin is horrible."

"I'm horrible?" Sakura jumped out of her seat with a squeak when a voice said behind her all of a sudden. "Are you talking behind my back?"

Sakura turned around to glare at him. "No, I'm talking in front of your face."

He grinned slightly. "How was your date?"

She rolled her eyes. "It was absolutely, positively wonderful. How was _your_ date?"

"Is someone jealous?" He laughed.

"Me? Jealous!? Of _what_?" Sakura snorted, darting a look at the girl that was clinging to his arm.

Syaoran brushed the girl's hands off him. "I just treated her to coffee," he said defensively, "and we talked. That's all to it."

Sakura turned away from him, forcing her eyes to stare into the dark liquid sitting before her. "It's none of my business. I don't care what you do, you're just my boss." She sipped her coffee slowly. "Don't flatter yourself, Mr. Li."

Syaoran cocked his eyebrow in amusement. "Alright then, Miss Kinomoto…" he drawled. "Are you ready to get back to work?"

"_What?_"

"I didn't hire you so you can sit on your butt and do nothing all day."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Fine. What do you want me to do?"

"Li-san, do you mind driving me back to work?" said the slut... err... what she meant to say was 'brunette'.

"Do you know how to drive?" he looked at Sakura.

She blinked a couple of times. "W-What?"

"It would be most appreciated if you drive us."

"It's _your_ car," Sakura scolded. "Why don't _you_ drive?"

He smirked. She ground her teeth together. He smirked again. She rolled her eyes. He smirked even bigger. She groaned and grabbed the keys from his hands. "Thank you."

Sakura growled. _Ohh… I hate that man._

zZz

Sakura tried to keep her eyes on the road, but it was hard to drive with a big hungry gorilla sitting in the back seat, acting like a crazy darn hyena. No, she wasn't talking about Syaoran. She was talking about the bobble-head that was clinging onto his arm. She couldn't believe he made her into his personal driver—what was up with that!? She felt utterly disgusted the way the hyena girl practically threw herself on top of him in the back seat. Didn't she have any dignity, or shame to begin with?

How could he stand her!?

_Men._ They would put up with anything to get some. What a sad, sad world she lived in.

Sakura slowly stopped the car in front of a daytime bar. _Oh, no wonder_. She silently rolled her eyes.

She pretended to look away when Syaoran walked the girl into the bar. She looked at her watch and timed to herself how long it took him to come back out. _Six minutes and 37 seconds._

He knocked on the driver's window. Sakura rolled down the window. "What is it, Mr. Li?"

"An elegant lady like yourself shouldn't have to drive while wearing such a beautiful dress."

Oh, how ironic were his words?

Sakura climbed over to the passenger seat. He got into the car and turned to look at her slightly with a look that she didn't quite understand. She didn't know why, but she could never comprehend what his expressions were, or what could be going on in his mind. He was like a mystery—an unsolved puzzle. One moment, he was the stupidest pervert on the face of this planet; the next moment, he could be the scariest thing ever; and then the next... he was the sweetest man—a perfect charmer. She didn't get him at all.

Take that day for an example. The Syaoran from that morning was different from the Syaoran in the elevator. When he told her to straighten her hair instead of curling it, he showed a side of him that she saw earlier when he made her breakfast. Then all of a sudden, he changed back into his flirtatious self when she caught him flirting in the coffee shop (not to mention he tried to hide his face in the beginning). Then out of nowhere, like he suddenly pulled a 180-degree rotation, he turned into the sweet charmer that had faintly told her that he had a crush on her. Just what was his deal? Which was the real him—the player, the thoughtful man, or the all-rounded heartthrob?

"Are you feeling okay?" he asked softly, touching his hand to her forehead. "Doesn't feel like you're sick. Think you can work today?"

She nodded, removing his hand away from her. "Y-yeah."

He just shrugged his shoulders lightly and put the car into motion. "Do you want to go back to the apartment to change? You will be doing heavy work today; don't want to ruin your pretty little dress."

Sakura rolled her eyes at his sarcasm. "I'll be fine, thank you very much."

"If you say so," he grinned.

zZz

"You did not tell me I'd be doing jobs like this when you hired me." Sakura ignored the aching pains in her fingernails, and pulled onto the refrigerator with all her might. "You only said paperwork and cleaning up. You never mentioned anything about hauling a refrigerator!"

"I still can't see the back," he said. "Pull it out a little more."

"Why can't you do this?" She whined for the sixth time in the last five seconds.

He walked over to stand in front of her with his arms across his chest. "I told you that you will be doing heavy work today."

She pouted. "Not funny. Help me!"

He chuckled. "This is how you do it, baka." Before Sakura realized what was happening, he had suddenly came up behind her and placed his body up against hers. "On my count... pull." He directed, putting his hands on top of hers. "One..."

Sakura could feel her heart beating faster.

"Two..."

And faster.

"Three."

She lost her balance when the refrigerator moved and flew backwards into his arms. This position was getting too familiar...

"I told you this was how you do it," he whispered into her ears.

"I-I need to use the bathroom." She quickly wiggled out of his arms and ran out of the kitchen. "May I use your bathroom?" she asked the home-owner when she walked into the living room.

"Down the hall to your right."

"Thank you."

Sakura splashed cold water onto her face, hoping it would give her the wake up call that she needed. She stared at herself in the mirror. Just standing there and staring at her reflection. Stalling. 

She hoped that by stalling she would be able to give herself some time to think about what was going on. Maybe with some clear thinking, she would be able to figure out the whole thing. 

Figure _him_ out.


	7. Chapter 7

**I'm In Love with a Plumber**

* * *

Rule Number Seven:  
_Daydreaming about your boss is __**never**__ a good thing,  
Especially when you __**talk**__ in your sleep._

**oOo**

Sakura threw herself onto the couch as soon as she came falling into the apartment, throwing her heels across the room and flinging her purse wherever it would land on its own. She couldn't give a rat's ass what her so-called roommate thought of her "lady-ness". She was too tired to give a care of what his impression of her could be. _He_ was the reason behind her suffering after all. _He_ should be _apologizing_ for treating her _this_ way. A lady like herself, if she should say so upon her behalf, was not brought up to do _manual_ labor.

She might not be a descendant of an aristocratic family, but her family was still above the average norms, considering her father's position in society as a respectable archaeologist. She shouldn't have to be treated _this_ way. Pushing and hauling refrigerators, fixing and installing gutters, drains, and pipes—not to mention working on other people's toilets—this wasn't her ideal job. She wanted to be a secretary, and she applied to _be_ a secretary.

"Oh, Kami-sama, I can't feel anything anymore…" she groaned.

"Stop whining."

_Whining?_ Who was whining? She was just simply _expressing_ her pain—was that so wrong to do?

She didn't bother replying him, and he didn't say anything after that either. Sakura closed her eyes and endured the silence—_too_ silent. "Syaoran...?" she called out.

"What is it?" he answered.

At least she knew he was still in the room. "Nothing," she replied in return. "What are you doing?" she added shortly afterwards, feeling bored herself. For some reason, it didn't feel right at all not being able to hear his voice. It was as if she had gotten used to hearing him. Strange but at the same time, it felt _normal_.

"Looking at some things," he said.

"Porn?" She couldn't help but crack the comment—it just came out.

She heard him snorted slightly. "I'm not a pervert all the time, you know."

"So you admit of being perverse?"

"I'm a man after all." 

She didn't argue with him there—he _was_ a man after all. She decided to brush the subject off and pushed herself off the couch. "I'm going to go take a bath," she said.

"Before you go—what do you want for dinner?" he asked.

"Chinese," she casually threw an answer at him. He was mumbling things to himself when she was leaving the room.

zZz

Sakura sighed in relaxation after the long, _very_ long bubble bath. A relaxing bath was a woman's answer to all her exhaustion, especially if the woman worked for a work addict, who happened to be her good-for-nothing roommate as well. Sakura quickly put on her nightclothes. She made sure not to wear something 'revealing', considering _who_ she was living with. There was no need for her to cause any unwanted _reaction_ from him—that would be Hell... or was it Heaven?

She washed her face and applied her night-time treatments. She had one for everything—acne, moisturizer, wrinkles, anti-aging, and et cetera. Thank Kami-sama for these miracle workers. They were simply the answer to every woman's worries in life. Too bad Sakura's _problem_ couldn't be solved with miracle in a bottle. 

As she continued to brood over her insecurity, Syaoran's words suddenly came into her mind. He simply remarked that she was being too paranoid about these things—he also said that beauty came naturally, not bought with money, and it didn't come inside a bottle.

And how did he even know about her problem?

He caught her envying this woman that was flirting with him. Well, not so surprisingly, _most_ of his clients were females and ninety-nine point nine percent of them flirted with him. Sakura was too busy grumbling to herself that she didn't see him coming back to the car, and he overheard her saying something along the line of 'stupid big boobs' and how 'God was so unfair' over in the women industry. He kind of laughed and advised her to get a stress ball rather than 'mumbling' to herself. And if she should mumble to herself, then she should learn how to do so without letting other people hear her.

After the embarrassing event, Sakura made a mental note to buy a stress ball as soon as possible. She wondered if she could custom order one in the shape of Syaoran's head.

Sakura glanced at the clock on the wall, surprised to see that she had been in the bathroom for nearly two hours. She quickly gathered herself and walked back outside to let her roommate know that she didn't drown in the bathtub. She opened her mouth to say something, but quickly shut it when she saw the brown haired man sleeping on the couch, hugging a pillow to his chest. Sakura forced herself to hold down her giggle. He looked... erm... _cute_ sleeping like that. _Just like a baby_, she thought.

Her eyes quickly glanced at the plates of foods on the table. She blinked speechlessly. _He cooked dinner?_

She had thought that he was going to order dinner from some Chinese restaurant or something like that. She didn't know he was actually _cooking_ their dinner. Was he waiting for her to finish her bath?

Sakura sighed, running a hand through her hair in frustration. It was happening again. She was getting mixed thoughts about him all over. Just when she decided that he was a jerk, he did something absolutely sweet and... and... words couldn't come to her to describe it. All that she could think of was: _Why...?_

She went to grab a blanket from the closet and gently put it over him. She listened to his tempo breaths as she observed him quietly. He must've been really exhausted, even more exhausted than she had been. Now that Sakura looked back on the day, she felt ashamed and guilty for blaming her pain on him. It wasn't like he didn't do anything, and had enjoyed watching her work her ass off. He helped her by taking on the heavy jobs... _and_ the easy ones. Okay, so all Sakura did was chat with the customers and look pretty. She carried his toolbox, which was anything but light—that counted as doing something, right?

Sakura wanted to slap herself in the face so bad for acting like a whiny brat.

He didn't say anything though. Even when she said things to him that he didn't deserve, he didn't say anything and just smiled while she complained on and on about how unfortunate it was to work for him.

Sakura sat down and tried to remember all the words she had said to him exactly. _Oh, god..._ she remembered some of the not-so-nice words she'd used. _I am such a bitch._

She felt disgusted with herself. She always said that she hated people who judged other people based on their first impression, yet, she poorly treated the man because of her first impression of him. It was more like her _second_ impression rather than her first impression that had led her to her own assumptions that he was nothing more than a perverted jerk. 

She didn't even try to get to know him better. Yet, even through the unkind words she expressed towards him, he still put up with her.

_I am such a horrible person._

zZz

"Okay. Did someone kidnap the old Kinomoto Sakura and replaced her with someone else, or am I still dreaming?" was Syaoran's reaction when he woke up to find Sakura making breakfast for them. It wasn't _any_ old breakfast either—she'd made big fluffy omelettes _and_ she prepared him a glass of milk. Just the other day she almost killed him because he drank her milk, and today she was _giving_ it to him? The world was going to end soon.

"What do you mean 'did someone kidnap the _old_ Kinomoto Sakura' huh? What's wrong with the '_me'_ before—wait..." Sakura paused mid-sentence. "You dream about me?"

Syaoran cleared his throat. "I never said that."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Well, are you going to eat it?" 

He just stared at the plate of omelette like he was debating whether to eat it or not. Sakura sighed in exasperation before adding, "I didn't poison it."

He smiled kindly. "I wasn't thinking that," he said. "I'm just... _surprised_."

"Why?"

"You're being nice."

"Am I a mean person?"

"N-no, I didn't mean it like that," he continued. "It's just... normally you aren't _so_ nice towards me, like you hate me."

Sakura kind of cringed at his words. Was that what he thought—that she hated him? She'd never meant to give him that message at all. 

True, she didn't like the man _as much_, but she never _hated_ him per se. Take her and Eriol for example. Now, _that_ man _really_ pulled her nerves but she didn't _hate_ him—she just loathed him with a strong passion. Wait... don't those two words mean the same thing?

Ah, screw it.

"But thank you," he said, sitting down at the table and taking a bite of the omelette. "God. I wish you are nice like this all the time. Then I'll be eating delicious omelettes every morning."

Sakura smiled slightly at the comment. "Hey, Syaoran..." she started saying slowly. "I just want to apologize."

He stopped eating and looked at her, confused. "For what?"

"The way I've been acting towards you yesterday," she said. "I was being a whiny brat."

He laughed. "I can't agree more."

Sakura tried hard not to glare at him. "I'm trying to be civilized you know."

"I know," he remarked. "And I'm being honest. You were being a brat."

Sakura rolled her eyes. She gave up—they would never agree on anything. "I'll try to be less bratty from now on."

"Try adding paranoid to that, too."

"You're pushing your luck, Mr.Li."

He smiled slightly. "Didn't hurt to try," he said.

"You know... you aren't such a bad guy," Sakura commented casually.

"You just realized that?"

Sakura couldn't help but roll her eyes... again. "You are so full of it."

"You mean my hotness?"

Sakura grabbed the glass of milk from him while he was reaching for it. "Cocky Syaoran doesn't deserve Sakura's milk."

He raised his eyebrow. "_Sakura's_ milk?"

Sakura rubbed her temples. "You are _so_ perverted."

"And you know you love me for it." He gave her a quick wink and took the glass of milk out of her hand. 

Sakura sighed quietly. He wasn't one hundred percent wrong. Don't take her words the wrong way—she didn't _love_ him, if that's what you are thinking. Heck. She didn't even think she liked him _that_ much.

"So..." she started changing the subject. "What are we going to do today?"

"It's a misfortune that I can't work today." Sakura suddenly jumped up from her seat and screamed 'Oh, mama!' _very_ loudly. "I prefer 'Oh, daddy'."

Sakura tried not to let his comment ruin her moment of celebration. "Why aren't we working today?"

"I have some things to attend," he continued. "Pointless appointments here and there... you know. I don't know why _you_ are so happy though. I just said that I can't work today, never said anything about you _not_ working."

Her expression turned into a frown. "You're kidding, right?"

"I need you to stay home and make phone calls for me," he said.

Sakura's frown deepened. "Tell me you're kidding."

He swallowed the last drop of milk and put the glass down on the table, patting his stomach quite contently. "You're the secretary."

Man. She should have poisoned the omelette, but her damn conscience had to get in the way.

_Just. So. Freaking. Wonderful._

zZz

"Miss Yoko?" Sakura said into the phone. "Hi, I'm Mr. Li's secretary. I'm calling to let you know that he can't come today, but he will come as soon as his schedule will allow him. I'm sorry for the short notice."

She quickly hung up the phone, leaving the woman on the other line no time to throw questions at her about her stupid boss. Sakura learned the lesson the hard way. When dealing with clients and ninety-nine percent of them are single or divorced females, say what you need to say fast and escape their clutches as quickly as you can. 

Sakura looked at the list of names on the notepad and groaned. She had about a little more than a quarter left to go, which was probably going to take another two or three hours. She had spent all morning making and answering calls that she was sick of looking at the phone.

When was the agony going stop?

If she had to hear the voice of another woman asking about Li Syaoran, she was going to yank her head off and feed it to a shark or something. What was so great about him anyway? He was obnoxious, perverted, rude—sure, he was _exceedingly_ good looking, and he could be sweet at times, but that still didn't make up for all of his bad qualities. Those _were_ his bad qualities, right? ... Did he even have any bad qualities?

_Sakura, what are you saying to yourself!_ She mentally slapped herself awake.

Although, she was a little curious as to what those women saw in him. What could they possibly fantasize in their mind when they saw him? 

Sakura leaned forward on the table, resting her chin on her hand as she tried to imagine what those women could possibly think of with Li Syaoran standing before their eyes. Each and every one of them wanted him—they didn't just _want_ him that simple—they WANTED him.

She glanced at the clock and sighed lightly. It was only twelve something in the afternoon. She rested her head on the table, slowly closing her eyes, and let out a soft yawn. "I still don't see anything in him," she mused to herself.

_Sakura fell backwards onto the bed, grabbing Syaoran by his collar, and pulled him down with her as well. He opened his mouth to say something, or he tried to say something, but Sakura didn't let him have the opportunity to. She used the chance to pull him towards her, closing the gap between them. He smoothly ran his tongue over her lips. _

_"Oh, Syaoran..." she moaned softly. _"Syaoran..."

"Well, isn't this something?"

Sakura's eyes snapped open. Then realization hit her right in the face as she stared with open mouth at the man standing before her. "Kami-sama..."

"So you _do_ dream about me?" he grinned cockily, advancing towards her.

"D-don't you come any c-closer!" Sakura panicked, standing up and taking a step back.

He smirked. "Judging from how you have moaned enjoyably in your sleep, I think that you want more... _Sa-ku-ra_." She felt her knees trembling just hearing him say her name like that. "You wish that it wasn't a dream, don't you?" He came closer. "You desire for..." And closer. "You lust for..." He cornered her until she had nowhere else to go. "You _want_ me."

"Don't make me kick you there again!" She warned him.

Syaoran disregarded the threat and pinned her to the wall, gently trailing kisses down her neck. He stopped at the nape and slowly moved his way back up. "Don't deny it, Sakura..." He said and started sucking on her earlobe tenderly. 

He slid a hand under her shirt, feeling the softness of her skin, while his other hand travelled down to her waist outlining all the curves of her body. Sakura felt somewhat _vulnerable_.

She felt her heart beating faster and her body aching for a certain _something_. She wasn't sure what it was that she longed for, but it seemed as though her body was responding to his touches on its own as it asked for more.

She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. "... _please_..." she said breathlessly.

"Sakura?"

"_Hm..._"

"Wake up, baka!" a voice suddenly screamed at her from out of nowhere.

Sakura opened her eyes to find herself looking up at a very annoyed Syaoran. She rubbed her eyes and glanced at the time—6:37 PM? She fell asleep for six hours? Kami-sama, that meant...

"Hoeee... it was a dream!" she cried out.

Okay. _What_ was wrong with her, or was she actually disappointed that it was only a dream? 

"What were you dreaming about? I could hear you moaning from outside in the hall—actually... _don't_ tell me your dream," he said. "Unless... of course, I was in it." 

He winked at her cutely.

Sakura groaned and smacked her forehead. 

_Ohh, you have no idea._ She thought to herself exasperatedly. 

How could she dream of him? And it wasn't _just_ any normal dream. To dream of _wanting_ him in a dream was bad enough, but nooooo! She just had to dream that she wanted him in a dream that was inside _another_ dream.

_Is this the effect he has on women?_ Sakura thought to herself as she watched his back retrieving to the bathroom.

If so then...

_Hell. I'm in big trouble._


	8. Chapter 8

**I'm In Love with a Plumber**

* * *

Rule Number Eight:  
_It's not called _**stalking**_;  
It's called_ **meant** to be.

**oOo**

_There's something wrong with me. There's nothing wrong with me. Something wrong with me. Nothing wrong with me. Something wrong with me. Nothing wrong with me. Something. Nothing. Something. Nothing. Something. Nothin_—Sakura paused in the middle of her thoughts and tilted her head to the left a little, following the direction of Syaoran's ass. God knows why she was looking at his ass. She just found herself looking at it when he walked by, and she couldn't stop looking at it ever since. _Nice butt_.

She slapped herself back to reality. _No. Way._ She did not say that Li Syaoran had a nice butt—what in the world was she thinking! He did _not_ have a nice butt... just a very _nice_ piece of bun-bun. 

_Okay, Sakura... seriously. Get a grip of yourself. No more thinking or looking at him. Got that?_ Sakura told herself.

It was bad enough that she dreamt about him every now and then. She didn't need to add more problems to her life by checking him out every second he passed by. It wasn't that she _wanted_ to look at him. She just wanted to see if there was a difference between the dream Syaoran and the real Syaoran. So far, she got nothing.

"Like what you see?"

Sakura snapped out of her thoughts. "H-Hoe?"

"You've been looking at my ass all morning," he smirked slightly. "How is it? From one to ten, I bet I'm a ten plus right?"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Once again, you are so full of it."

"I know I'm full of hotness," he said. "You don't have to remind me all the time—once is enough to let me know that you love me."

"You are hopeless."

"Do you have any plans today?"

"What do you mean? Don't we have work today?"

"It's Saturday," he said dryly.

_It is?_

The week went by so fast she almost forgot that it was Saturday already. Sakura couldn't believe it. She was still breathing after working with Li Syaoran for a full week. It was a miracle. She didn't know how she did it, but she did it. She survived the first week of work with the man. 

Now, all she had to do next was to survive one more week until he moved his ass back to his own apartment, and she didn't have to see his face again—well, outside of work that was. Sakura was getting sick of his face. She saw him everywhere.

He was the first thing she saw in the morning and the last thing she saw before she closed her eyes. She had to deal with him outside of work hours and at work, not to mention that she even saw his stupid face in the shower. Unfortunately for Sakura, his stupid ego led him into putting a picture of himself on the bathroom wall. One time, Sakura was walking by the bathroom and she caught him talking to the picture—it was NOT a sight she wanted to see.

_One more week, Sakura... One more week._

_You can do it._

_Just. One. More. Week._

"Oh," Sakura replied quietly. "Not sure. You?"

"What I do every week."

"Watching porn?"

He scoffed. "You have to throw that at me every chance you get, don't you?"

Sakura smiled innocently. "But isn't that what you do?"

"Are you interested in joining me, Miss Kinomoto?"

"N-Not even in your dreams!" Sakura stuttered, trying to hide her embarrassment.

"Don't you mean _your_ dreams?" He quickly threw the comeback at her and walked away, leaving a speechless Sakura to replay his words in her head. _Oh, Kami-sama_. What did he...?

Sakura was afraid of the possibilities. He couldn't have known about her... _dreams_... could he?

She _prayed_ that he didn't.

_Note to self: From now on, tape mouth up before going to sleep._

"So, how do I look?" He asked as he came back into the room.

Sakura stared at the man before her with open mouth. He was wearing a casual suit, but it wasn't too informal either, and his hair was tamed unlike the messy style he always had. His dress shirt was unbuttoned at the top, slightly showing the tan skin of his muscular chest. He looked... _hot_. Heck! Sakura might even go crazy and throw in the unbearable word that he had once used. You know... "the F word"...

"W-what's the special occasion?" she asked curiously.

He grinned. "I already told you. I'm going to do what I always do on my weekend," he answered. "Fishing."

Fishing? Who was crazy enough to go fishing while dressing like that? Like hell, wasn't he worried about getting his clothes dirty? Judging from his taste in coffee table, his choice of clothes must have been _pricey_ as well. _Fishing_—he freaking dressed up like a _God_ to go _fishing_. What was so great about rearing in a bunch of smelly fish out of a lake?!

"You're going fishing in _that_?" Sakura _had_ to ask. If only she had kept her mouth shut...

Syaoran was confused by her question. "What else would I wear if I'm going fishi—_oh my god!_" he started laughing uncontrollably. "You think I'm going _fishing_ for real?"

"Well, you said you were going fishing."

"You seriously need to get out more," he said. "I meant—I'm going to fish for _girls_."

Sakura let out a silent 'oh'.

"Tell me... when people say 'there are plenty of fishes in the sea', what do you think they mean?"

"That there's a lot of fish in the sea," Sakura replied. "There are sharks, flounders, clown fish, angelfish, trout, catfish..." And the list went on.

Syaoran ruffled her hair. "You have a lot to learn, my dear Sakura. _A lot_." He quickly looked at his watch. "Well, got to go. I'll give you your lessons some other time," he said. "I'll either come home late or not come home at all."

He gave her a quick wink and slipped out the door before she could open her mouth to say something. Sakura sighed. He was a fast worker bee, wasn't he?

Sakura looked at the time. It wasn't even ten in the morning yet. Tomoyo was probably still in bed. After all, it was a Saturday morning and last night was a Friday night—you know what that meant. _Ohh, yes._

Sakura grinned evilly and took out her cell phone, speed dialing her friend's home phone number. "_Sakura, for God's sake!_" cried a certain agitated black-haired man, whom she loved very dearly.

"Rise and shine, _Eriol-kun_!" Sakura giggled. "Did I call at a bad time?"

Eriol growled. _"It's_ your _friend_._"_ Sakura heard him said to Tomoyo while mumbling something about 'kill kill kill' and 'stab choke stab'.

"Sakura," her friend's voice sounded very exhausted, "Why so early?"

"I'm bored..." Sakura replied. "And I couldn't resist the urge to annoy your man."

"Congrats, you did what you set out to do."

"Are you free today?"

"Yeah. Eriol is leaving for a two days business trip, " Tomoyo answered.

"Is that the reason behind last night's special occasion?" Sakura teased her friend, already knowing the answer herself. Tomoyo and Eriol never needed any kind of _reasons_ to have a _special_ occasion.

"The girls and I are thinking of clubbing tonight," the other girl quickly changed the subject. "Want to go? Or will your _roommate_ miss you too much to let you go?"

Sakura rolled her eyes at the girl's sarcastic remark. "I don't like him."

"Whatever you say, Sakura. Whatever you say." Sakura could tell that the other girl was grinning from chin to chin on the other line. "If you don't like clubbing then we can just have movie night at my place."

Sakura never really liked the 'club' scenes—they were loud, rowdy, and God knows what kind of people went there. The last time Sakura went to a club was also her first time, and she never stepped foot into a club after that. Whenever the girls went to clubbing, they tried not to let her know about it so she didn't feel left out, but she found out eventually when their conscience ate their guts to pieces.

"I'll go," said Sakura.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah," she said again. "About time I give it a second try, right?"

"It'll be better this time I promise!" Tomoyo exclaimed excitedly. "It was a 'college' club that you went to."

"What's the difference?" Sakura asked. "Don't all clubs have music and alcohol?"

"Yes, but this is a 'grown up' club and you get more choices."

Sakura laughed. "Tomoyo, I just want to pass my Saturday night by doing something. It's not like I am looking for someone to devote the rest of my life to—just to remind you again, I am engaged."

"Yeah. Yeah. I don't see any ring on your finger yet," said the other girl. "That's a sign to the world that you are still available. And who knows? You might find your soul mate at the club—I found Eriol, and Chiharu found Takashi."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Yeah, tell me again why I'm going if by 'more choices' you meant _those_."

"Ha. Ha. Very funny."

"Just playing, Tomo-chan! You know I love your man." _Okay_. That was a big fat lie.

"I'll meet you at the club tonight okay, Sakura? I have to work an extra shift today, and I'm going straight to the club after work." Sakura frowned. She was hoping the girl could hang out with her for the rest of the day. "Are you okay with going there by yourself?"

"Yeah."

"I have to get ready for work now."

"See you tonight."

And they ended their phone call. Sakura fell back on the couch and let out a heavy sigh. What to do for the next seven or eight hours? What was there to do anyway?

_I seriously need to get myself a new life._

zZz

"What got into you today?"

Sakura looked up from her drink and stared at the man sitting across from her. "What do you mean?"

"One, you didn't complain about anything this morning when you saw me," said the silver-haired man. "And two, you invited me into your apartment for a drink and snacks."

"Maybe I want to get to know you better?"

"Are you asking me that, or telling me that?"

Sakura groaned. _What the heck was I thinking?_ Was she _that_ bored?

She couldn't ask Nakuru to go shopping with her because the woman was still out of the country. Her Otou-san had to give a lecture class that day while Tomoyo and the other girls all had to work. She'd tried talking to the other tenants in the building, but all they could talk about was how hot Syaoran was. That was no fun. Sakura refused to call her 'roommate' up and ask what he was up to, therefore, she was left with the option to make small talk with Yue, the other hot but _very_ crazy male specimen in the building.

"So, how did you become a landlord?" asked Sakura.

"Inherited the place."

"That's cool." And came the long awkward pause. Sakura fiddled nervously with her hands. "You and Syaoran seem to know each other very well."

"We've known each other for a while," the man replied.

_I wonder if they're secretly in love..._ Sakura had no idea what gave her that thought.

"I'm not into men," he said all of a sudden as if answering her question. "And even if I am, my taste isn't bad enough to like _him_."

_Note to self: Syaoran and Yue are both freaks that can read people's mind._

"No wonder Syaoran likes living with you," he snorted. "You're easy to read like an open book."

Sakura glared at the man. "I'm not easy!"

The silver-haired man smirked. "Only Syaoran would know about _that_. I only said you're easy to _read_."

_Another note to self: They're both perverts._

"Wait—he likes living with me?"

Yue sighed. "I believe that's what I said."

"Did he tell you that?"

"It's my own assumption."

"You _assume_ that he likes living with me?"

"It's a very logical assumption," he said. "If he doesn't like to live with you, then why is he living with you?"

That didn't really help at all. He just asked her a question to answer a question she asked him—some stupid explanation that was.

"How long have you two known each other?" asked Sakura.

"Since the day he was born."

"Wow. You two go way back?"

"Something like that."

"Then you must know a lot about him, right?"

The older man looked at her with a suspicious look. "Okay, what do you want from me? I knew you were being too nice."

"N-no! That isn't what I meant..." Sakura stuttered. "I just want to know a few things about him cause I'm w-working with him and all... you know?"

"If you want to get information on him, just say so."

"I d-don't."

Yue rolled his eyes. "He never had a girlfriend."

"W-what?" Sakura blinked a couple of times, trying to refresh the words in her head. "He never had a girlfriend?"

"One-night stands and flings, but never a girlfriend."

Sakura rolled her eyes exasperatedly. She had thought the other man could be a decent guy when she heard that he never had a girlfriend, but then five seconds later, she was told that he had flings and one-night stands _only_. That sure boosted the guy's image in her mind.

"He must've been a pain growing up, huh?"

"We bumped into each other again about a year ago," Yue replied slowly. "We didn't have any contact before that."

"How come?"

"He was his mother's pride and joy. His mother moved the family abroad so he could get a good education. He lived in America most of his life, and he moved back to Japan after earning a Master's Degree."

Sakura was surprised hearing about Syaoran's accomplishments. It was just hard to believe the man that seemed like he wanted to eat her alive was capable of doing those things. Were they talking about the same Li Syaoran, or was Yue thinking about some other dude out there with the same first and last name?

"Why is he a plumber now?"

Yue rubbed his temples. "I'll probably get a headache trying to explain his profession to you, so ask him when you can."

"Where are you going?" Sakura asked when he started to stand up.

"Back to work," he said. "The bills aren't going to pay themselves."

Sakura pouted sadly. If Yue was busy—and he rarely had anything to do other than sit on his butt all day, watching stupid movies—then Sakura was doomed to be bored out of her mind for the next four or five hours.

"If you're so bored, I suggest walking around."

She sighed slightly and said goodbye to him at the door. He did have a point. 'Fun' wasn't going to come and knock on her door. Sakura grabbed her things and headed out the door, determined to find something productive to waste her time on. She didn't have to meet the girls at the club until later, and it was a long, _long_ time away.

Sakura was exiting the apartment building when she caught a glimpse of the small bakery that was located on the right. She had walked by the bakery a few times, but never had a chance to go inside and check it out. What the heck? She was bored out of her mind.

She stepped into the bakery, surprised to see that it was clean from ceiling to floor—it looked so run down on the outside.

"I'll help you in a minute, please look around!" an old lady said as she checked out two people that was standing at the register.

Sakura decided to walk around the shop a bit. She was looking at the pastry selection when someone suddenly knocked her over. "Hey, watch where you're—"

The person was long out of the shop before she could finish her sentence. She assumed that whoever bumped into her was utterly rude and needed to get their eyes and ears checked. One, they needed to learn to look where they were walking. Two, the person should have been able to hear Sakura screamed her head off... of course, unless he or she was deaf. 

Sakura looked out the window, wondering if she could see whoever bumped into her. Then she saw a figure that looked sort of like Syaoran, walking with another woman. Sakura quickly ran out the shop, but the figures were gone.

"Sakura, you're seeing things." She told herself, and walked back into the bakery.

"I'm sorry," the old woman approached her. "I was helping the couple earlier."

_So it was a couple that left._

_But what are the chances of the guy being Syaoran?_

_Besides... he's out 'fishing'._

"May I help you?"

"Do you have a chocolate cake?" Sakura asked.

She was in the mood for something chocolatey and sweet on a very dull day.

"I'm sorry. The man from earlier bought our last chocolate cake. Would you like something else?"

Sakura smiled. "It's okay. I'll come back another time," she said.

She exited the bakery wondering to herself what she should do next. It wasn't like she had options to choose from; she simply had _nothing_ to do. As she was walking down the street, a cab passed by slowly and she swore that she saw Syaoran in the back seat. Sakura shook herself back to reality.

_Okay, Sakura... stop imagining things,_ she told herself. _He is far, far away from this area, fishing for God knows what._

She decided that she was going to waste the next few hours with a productive beauty nap. She headed back to her own apartment. She was surprised to find a white box on the table with a little note by it.

'I came back, but you weren't home. Hope you like chocolate cake, but don't eat all of it and save me some.'

Sakura quickly ran out the door and fled down the stairs, running breathlessly towards the small bakery again.

"Welcome back," said the old woman.

She tried catching her breaths. "The man that bought the chocolate cake earlier..." she started saying. "Did he have brown hair and amber eyes, and looked like he was in his twenties?"

The woman nodded.

_It was him._

_Syaoran..._

Sakura thanked the woman and left. Her mind was puzzled with what to think—what could she think about? Maybe he just wanted to be nice and bought her a chocolate cake. But wasn't he out enjoying his fishing trip? Why did he think of her while he was on a date without another woman, possibly two or three of them? It wasn't a big deal... right?

But then, why was she breathing so hard?

She picked her phone out of her purse and slowly dialed his number, telling herself to stay calm and that she was only being courteous by thanking him properly.

"Sakura?" the other line picked up.

"Um... h-hi," she said. "Just wanted to call and say t-thanks."

He chuckled lightly on the other line. "That's all?"

"Hai."

"So what are you doing?" He asked after a very long awkward pause.

"Nothing much," she answered, leaning her back against a street pole. "I had a chat with Yue today and we had tea."

"Really?" Syaoran sounded amused by the topic. "And you didn't shoot yourself in the head?"

Sakura giggled. "Not yet. He's not all that bad—quite helpful really."

"Really? Surprised to hear that," he chuckled.

"Li-san, _hang up_ the phone. Let's watch the movie!" Sakura heard a feminine voice said on the other line.

She heard a low sigh on the other line and there was a long pause before Syaoran said something. "Hey, sorry but I can't talk right now—stupid people are shushing me. Call you later?"

"It's okay," Sakura said quickly. "I'll just see you later."

"Sakura—"

She hung up before he could finish his sentence. He was on a date... well, obviously he was on a date. Sakura wasn't sure why she had felt something tightening onto her chest when she heard the woman's voice on the other line. Just the thought of him leaving her for someone else... _saddened_ her a bit. She supposed it was because she had gotten used to having his attention on her only. She was so used to _him_ being around her that she kind of _missed_ their usual spats with each other.

She hadn't seen him for like what four or five hours and she was _missing_ him?

_Hoeee. My life is so screwed._

Well, at least she knew where he was. It didn't take a genius to put 'movie' and 'people shushing' together to figure out that he was at the movies. But it wasn't like the new piece of information was going to do anything. So, what if she knew where he was? What was she going to do?

zZz

Sakura sat in the ice cream shop across the street from the movie theater, looking at the theater's entrance carefully while she enjoyed the banana split in front of her. It was her fourth one that day. 

_Just how long is the freaking movie?!_

He should have been out by now! Unless he already left. Sakura slammed her hands onto the table in frustration. She just wasted about fifteen dollars worth of ice cream for nothing.

Actually... what was she doing anyway?

Why was she waiting for him to get out? No. No. She wasn't waiting for _him_. She just happened to be eating at the ice cream parlor across the street from the movie theater that he happened to be at. It was all a _coincidence_.

"What flavor do you want?"

Sakura snapped out of her thoughts. _That voice_—!

She saw Syaoran approaching the counter with a brown haired woman. Sakura quickly slid out of her chair and curled herself together under the table, hoping they would just go and he wouldn't notice her.

"Li-san, do you want to sit down?"

_Please say no. Get out. Get out. Go already!_

There was a long pause before he replied. "Let's not," he finally answered.

Sakura sighed in relief when she heard the door close. She poked her head out from under the table, ignoring the strange looks people were giving her. Why did people have to be so nosy? She was getting up from her hiding spot when she saw Syaoran and the woman standing outside the display window. She ducked under the table again, cursing to herself.

They just had to pick that spot to stand and enjoy their 'love-combo' ice cream cones, didn't they?

_Sakura, this is your just desserts._ She told herself.

zZz

**Where are you?!**

Sakura groaned after reading the text.

'I'm... busy.' She sent the reply.

_Oh, Kami-sama... this is the price that I pay._

She groaned again, looking up at the four walls that surrounded her. She was _stuck_ in the women's dressing room. It wasn't that she couldn't get out—it was just a matter of her not being able to get out with a certain brown haired man standing outside the door.

Okay, let's rewind and see how she even got to this point.

After finishing their ice creams, Syaoran and the woman dropped by a bookstore, where they spent two and a half hours making out in the anthropology section—no one really cared about that section anyway. Then they went to grab a nice cup of coffee downtown, and they went to the mall after that. The woman dragged Syaoran into a few shops, and then she decided to get a little slutty and pulled him into a lingerie shop. Sakura felt sickening to the stomach. And then, somewhere between trying not to be discovered and running into the closest available dressing room, Syaoran ended up standing in front of the stall Sakura was in.

What did she do to deserve this?

She was stuck in the darn dressing room for hours—just how long did it take that woman to pick a freaking lingerie? Syaoran was probably going to rip it apart anyway, so why the hell was that woman being so picky?!

She was supposed to meet the girls at the club half an hour ago, but she couldn't go anywhere with him standing outside the door. _Hoeeeee!!_

An object suddenly landed on her face. Sakura held the lingerie in front of her with a puzzled look. _What the...?_

"It'll look good on you." Sakura clasped a hand over her mouth when she recognized whose voice it was. "Will you come out, or do I have to come in there?"

Sakura took in a deep breath and opened the door slowly, feeling embarrassed about being caught. Did he know all along that she was _casually_ following him? Just to be clear, she was _not_ stalking him. Uh-uh. No way! She just _happened_ to walk in the same directions as him..._the whole __day._

"H-hi," she smiled nervously.

Syaoran cocked his eyebrow at her with a big smirk on his face and his arms across his chest. "Humor me," he said.

"What a coincidence bumping into you, Syaoran!" It didn't hurt to try... right? "How was your date? Were you able to catch any fish—sharks, salmons, catfish, Moby Dick?"

"Hn."

"Syaoran...?" One moment, he was standing in front of her with an unexplainable expression on his face, and the next... he was pushing her into the dressing room, closing the door behind them. "Syaoran, what are you...?"

"It's either you've been stalking me all day long," he smirked. "Or we were meant to be."

_Yup,_ Sakura thought dryly in her mind. He definitely knew that she was _tailing_ him.

"Your girlfriend isn't going to be happy when she finds you like this," Sakura said.

"Sakura, you're really an idiot..." He whispered into her ears, and suddenly wrapped his arms gently around her waist, holding her tightly against his body.

Her mind told her to push him away, but her heart told her that it was okay... that it felt _so_ right to be in his arms. Sakura wasn't sure why these foreign feelings were going through her head; it was so strange and new to her at the same time. And in the next second, Sakura found herself doing what she never thought she would do—she gently placed her head on his shoulder, taking in the sweet scent that belonged to him.

"Syaoran..." she said slowly. "I'm not an idiot."


	9. Chapter 9

**I'm In Love with a Plumber**

* * *

Rule Number Nine:  
_Sometimes, life asks you to pick one of two things.  
You just have to go with the one that _feels _right._

**oOo**

It felt like an eternity before they pulled away from each other's embrace. Sakura gazed up at the pair of amber eyes that was looking down at her deeply.

"So..." she tried breaking the silence. "What now?"

_And_ she failed miserably.

Syaoran sighed and opened his mouth in attempt to say something; however, rather than hearing words coming out of his mouth, they heard a loud—_very_ loud—scream. Sakura started to panic when she saw Syaoran's date standing in the doorway with a pile of clothes lying on the door beside her feet. The woman seemed pale and looked like she was about to faint any given moment. Sakura didn't blame the woman—she probably would've had the same reaction too if she caught her date inside the dressing room with another woman. Not to mention that he was _holding_ her waist, and she was holding onto him as well.

_Yup._ Definitely not a sight _any_ woman would want to see.

"L-Li-san?" the woman was so shocked; her voice came out as a quiet squeak.

"Hi," he greeted her casually. Sakura couldn't believe this guy! How could he have been so calm at a time like that? Wasn't he worried at least a slight bit? Apparently, he wasn't. "Wait for me." He bent down to whisper into her ears before walking away with the other woman, who turned to give Sakura a very resentful look.

Sakura stood by the wall and observed quietly as she watched Syaoran talked to the other woman. Judging by the expression on the woman's face, whatever Syaoran was saying to her must have not been so pleasant to hear. Sakura's eyes widened when she saw the woman slapped Syaoran across the face and stormed off angrily, steams trailing behind her.

Syaoran sighed and walked back to where Sakura was standing. "That was a wonderful conversation," he chuckled.

"How can you laugh after that? She just slapped you!"

"It's nothing," he said.

Sakura didn't believe him. "You have a hand mark on your face and you tell me that it's nothing?" she scoffed. "Did it hurt?"

"Will you kiss my boo-boo if I say it did?"

"You are hopeless," she said exasperatedly. Leave it up to Li Syaoran to find a flirty joke out of everything. And she meant everything. It was almost unbelievable.

zZz

_Darn it, Sakura! _

_Think of something to say. It's not that hard. Just open your mouth and say something already damn it!_

Sakura was having an internal civil war with herself. One, she hated the awkward silence between them. Two, just the fact that he was sitting beside her on the couch was somewhat... er... _disturbing_—it wasn't that she didn't want him to sit beside her... it was just _disturbing_ in a completely different way than literal definition of 'disturbing'. And three, he was such a neat eater.

She had no idea why that little fact bothered her, but it did. Just watching him neatly take small, petite bites of his slice of cake aroused the desire inside of her to take the rest of the chocolate cake and shove it down his throat or something. It was a good thing that he was a neat eater—hell, Sakura was pleased to see that, but it made her looked bad. There he was, eating in perfect manners and all that crap—then there was Sakura, whose eating manners shall not be discussed to the public. 

Sakura didn't want to know what he thought of her. She was waiting patiently for the 'Boy, you have some appetite' comment to come eventually because that was what _most_ people had said to her in the past. She supposed she was just worried about her image in his eyes, and that was why his 'neat' eating habit annoyed her, because he was just too darn _perfect_ at everything. Typical guys weren't supposed to be neat eaters. Their 'typical' image was to wolf everything down—but Li Syaoran wasn't one of the 'typical' guys. He just _had_ to be one out of the bunch.

_Great. I just had to like the oddball in the crowd._

Wait... did she secretly admit in her mind that she _liked_ him? Since when did she decided on that! She didn't remember anything about '_liking_' him per se.

_Hoeeeee! I am so, so screwed._

Sakura jabbed a forkful of cake and stuffed it into her mouth, hoping it would calm down the thoughts running through her head. Unfortunately, she forgot to do the math. Mix anxiety, nervous syndrome, denial, internal civil war, a mouthful of cake, rushed swallowing and no chewing together and she got one thing: _choking_.

"Are you okay?" Syaoran looked at her with concern.

She nodded after gulping down a glass of water. "Y-yeah."

_Ohh... wonderful. Silence again._

"Pretty good cake, huh?" Sakura wanted to smack herself in the face so bad.

He nodded. "Yeah."

"Yup..."

_Sakura, you are truly... positively... absolutely... pathetic._

"What were your plans?" he asked all of a sudden.

"W-what?"

"You seem dressed up," he said. "I know you didn't dress up like that to stalk me."

Sakura groaned. "For the last time, I wasn't stalking you."

"Whatever you say, babe."

"Stop calling me babe!" Sakura was letting the heat get to her head. "I was just walking around."

She _was_ walking around until she decided to check out what he was up to, and then she ditched clubbing to enjoy a nice, relaxing dinner of chocolate cake with her roommate. So technically, she wasn't lying—she was only telling the partial truth. A little white lie was always good, right?

"How did you know that I was in the dressing room?" Sakura decided to ask, still puzzled as to how he even knew that it was her.

"Sakura, I'm not an idiot. I saw you under the table in the ice cream parlor," he answered with a chuckle. She knew that ice cream parlors were evil places—not only did they sell products that go straight for your waist and weight, they were bad hiding places also. "Then I saw you in the library," he continued. "And I saw you again in the coffee shop and all over the mall. At first I thought I must've gone crazy or something like that."

The girl quickly rolled her eyes. "So you went even crazier and threw a lingerie into the dressing room?"

He laughed. "I couldn't resist myself."

"What if it was another woman inside that room?"

He shrugged lightly and cut himself another slice of cake. "All the same, I'd just work my charms."

"So you'd push her into the dressing room and hold her, too?" Sakura hadn't realized that her words were full of bitterness and disappointment until they came out without a warning. She quickly got up and said, "I think I'm heading in for the night."

Before she could take a second step though, Syaoran grabbed hold of her wrist and pulled her towards him. Sakura struggled to get free at first, but she realized that it was no use so she gave in. Her knees weakened almost immediately when she felt his hot breath against her own. The gap between them decreased with each second that passed by until she felt the imperceptible touch of his lips against hers—so soft, just like her dreams. Except that this was real, and he was _actually_ kissing her.

Sakura's brain stopped functioning completely. She felt _tingly_ by his kiss.

He pulled away and gently placed a chaste kiss on her forehead. "And you said you weren't an idiot," he said.

"Syaoran...?" Sakura didn't know where to begin her questions. She had so many questions she wanted to ask him. Where should she even start?

"If it's a stupid question, don't ask."

She ignored that side effect to his personality. She was going to let smug Syaoran get away with it once, because she only wanted to deal with the man standing before her at that moment—the one that held her breath close to his with the skip of a heartbeat.

"Do you... _like_ me?" she asked.

"I told you if it's a stupid question, then don't ask."

"But I'm serious!" she pouted. "Well?"

"Put the math together, Sakura," was his answer and it was satisfying enough for her.

Sakura smiled. "Just to let you know, I'm not really good at math. My dad had to hire four tutors to teach me long division."

"You're not serious, are you?"

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why do you like me?"

"I was hoping you could tell me the answer to that question," he answered. "I've never asked a girl this before, but... Kinomoto Sakura, will you be my girlfriend?"

And that was all Sakura could take before her legs completely failed on her and she started collapsing. Luckily for her, Syaoran caught her in his arms, holding her ever so tightly against his body. Was this what people meant by 'sweeping a woman off her feet'? 

Sakura wasn't sure if he had swept her off her feet, but he definitely swept _something_ of hers.

"Y-you're not serious, are you?" she finally found her voice a few seconds later.

"Do you think I'd joke about something like this?"

"B-but..." she started stuttering, not sure how to answer him. A part of her wanted to say yes, but another part told her that it would be wrong if she should say yes. She was betrothed—engaged to another man. Even though she didn't know her future husband's face, she was still promised to another man. It would be unfair to Syaoran if she agreed to be his girlfriend. But then again, wasn't it unfair to her?

"Sakura...?" She looked up into his eyes, finding herself to call upon all of her willpower to stop herself from falling into a deeper pit.

It was _impossible_ to resist the man. It was as though he was _calling_ out to her—just standing there and calling out her name ever so tenderly. _Damn_. She hated his stupid charms. His stupid irresistible charms that blew her mind away in the matter of days.

What was she supposed to choose from—follow her needs or what she knew was the 'right' thing?

The choices were unreasonable as they were difficult to choose from. After all, Sakura knew that doing the 'right' thing was important if she should live up to look at her father in the face. If her dear father found out that his daughter was having (or was going to have) an affair while she was engaged, he would probably die in shame and disowned her. Then there was the problem with Syaoran.

On the other hand, a woman had her own needs. And because Sakura was a woman—whether she was a true woman or not, she was still a woman—she had her _needs_ as well. Call her selfish, call her spoiled, call her bratty—but just call her a woman.

It was a _necessity_.

Other than _needs_, Sakura wanted to say 'yes' mostly because she felt _complete_ with him. She had never felt that way towards anyone else before. Although she couldn't say how much she liked the man, but she could say that she liked him more than she was supposed to. Sakura knew she would regret her action later on in the future if she let the opportunity slipped by her.

"A-are you positive that this is what you want?" she found herself asking, scared of hearing the answer herself.

What if he was just playing with her? What if he was going to laugh any given moment, telling her that it was just a joke, and that she believed him? What if... what if he was only looking for a _good time?_

All of the possible answers scared her. She knew that she liked the guy, but did she like him that much to be hurt if everything—his words, charms, and feelings—turned out to be nothing but thin air? She hoped she didn't have to find out.

He assured her with a gentle smile. "Is that a yes?"

Sakura took in a deep breath and did some more mental thinking.

"Do I get a raise after this?"

He laughed and pulled her closer. "Sorry, but no."

Sakura leaned into his body.

_Because this_, she thought. _Feels right._


	10. Chapter 10

**I'm In Love with a Plumber**

* * *

Rule Number Ten:  
_It's human nature that when someone was hurt in the past,  
You do not want to hurt them again._

**oOo**

Sakura woke up the next morning with a weird feeling in her stomach. Was it all a dream? She remembered something about Syaoran asking her to be his girlfriend, and then... _Oh Kami-sama!!! I agreed to be his girlfriend!_

She was _so_ screwed.

_Hoeeeee!_

She buried her head under the pillow and screamed as loud as she could, letting out her frustration.

"Sakura?"

She glanced over to the door and found her _boyfriend_ standing in the doorway with a spatula in his hand. "Good morning," she said, weakly, forcing up a smile.

He gave her a weird look, but decided to shrug it off. "Breakfast will be ready soon."

Sakura sighed heavily when he was no longer in sight.

Did she say that she was so screwed?

She was _so_ screwed.

"Oh, Kami-sama..." she groaned.

Sakura decided that God was most unkind to her because he gave her a defective conscience. Where was her stupid conscience when she needed it most? Where was her stupid conscience when she decided to evacuate Syaoran's apartment? If her conscience had stopped her like it was supposed to—which it did not—then she didn't have to live with the man. If she didn't live with the man, she wouldn't have fallen for him. And if she didn't fall for him, then she wouldn't be lying there and blaming God.

Curses on her conscience.

zZz

Sakura walked out into the living room, taking a seat on the couch, and observed Syaoran closely with a special attention towards everything that he did—from flipping the eggs to washing the dishes and all that. She wanted to know what was going through his mind; but so far, she got nothing.

Unlike the man, she wasn't born with extrasensory perception.

"Syaoran, how old are you exactly?" she found herself asking.

"Thirty-three." She almost choked upon hearing his answer. He was twelve years older than she was?! "Does age matter?"

"No, b-but..."

He laughed. "I'm twenty-five, Sakura."

Sakura sighed in relief. _That sounds better_—much_ better._

"Syaoran, about what you said last night, are you sure...? Like I mean... we are moving kind of fast 'cause we've only known each other for like a week and all of a sudden, we're dating?" Sakura started babbling without taking a moment to breathe. "I woke up this morning and everything seemed like a dream to me. I could hardly believe it... I mean... I've never pictured myself getting together with a guy like you before."

"A guy like me?"

"You're like a hot dog and bun that every woman dreams of having!" Syaoran turned to give her somewhat of a weird look.

Okay. So maybe she shouldn't have used _that_ analogy.

He took off the apron, and walked over to where Sakura was, taking her hands into his and sat down in front of her. "I don't want you to be uncomfortable, Sakura—just tell me what you want to do, and I will respect your decision."

"I'm not really _uncomfortable_," Sakura said. "It's just I'm not used to the idea of having a boyfriend and all at the moment. You're my first, you know... I guess you can say that I'm just... erm... nervous about the whole dating thing cause I don't have any experience."

"You're my first, too."

Sakura smiled lightly when she was reminded of the little information. "I'm like far from the first girlfriend you thought of having, right?"

He chuckled softly. "Well, you're definitely far from the girls I usually pick up."

Oh, yes. He just had to remind her that he had a lot of one-night stands and flings with lots of women. _Wonderful._

_Note to self: Pry him into telling the number of women he had 'been with' later on... in the future... _soon.

"But you're special," he continued. "And just who I want to be for my first girlfriend."

Sakura just kind of stared at him with a goofy smile on her face. She was really touched by his answer. But she wasn't sure what to do or how to respond. Should she hug him or kiss him—how did he expect her to respond?

What would he have thought if she hugged him? Would he have thought that she didn't like him as much or what? Was it too early in their relationship to kiss him? After all, they had only been together 'officially' for about six or seven hours. On the other hand, he'd kissed her before—but did that mean she could kiss him?

Why in the freaking world was relationship so freaking complicated?

Who in their right mind came up with such things as hugging, kissing, and holding hands anyway? Couldn't they have stuck to the simple and ever so easy to use expressional phrases, also known as 'I like you' and 'I love you'? Some people just _loved_ to complicate everything.

"If we're done talking," he pulled her up gently. "Breakfast is getting cold."

They sat down at the table and started eating their breakfast in silence. Sakura would glance at him every chance that she thought he wasn't paying attention. The silence was killing her. They were a couple. They shouldn't have to eat in silence. They should be having lively conversations! But it was hard to have a conversation when she had nothing in her mind.

_Hm. He chews with his left side, then right side, then back to his left side, and then he swallows._

Okay. Why was she paying attention to his chewing pattern? Don't ask.

She watched as he bit a piece of his bacon. _Left, right, left, and swallow._

He bit another piece of his bacon, and the routine started all over again. Left. Right. Left. Swallow. After a few more minutes of watching him eat and admiring his 'chewing', Sakura started to discover a pattern in his drinking too.

_Wow,_ she thought. Everything he did had like a pattern or something.

It was kind of amusing actually.

Sakura tried to force down the urge to giggle; but unfortunately, her attempt failed miserably, catching the attention of her companion. Syaoran looked at her strangely, his eyebrows hiding somewhere behind the bangs hanging over his face.

"S-sorry," she bowed her head in embarrassment. "D-Do you think you can chew again...please?"

And she officially lost her mind.

"Okay," Syaoran put down his fork. "What's so amusing? You've been staring at my face and trying not to giggle."

"N-nothing," Sakura said. "I was just bored out of my mind because of the silence."

"And you found entertainment on my face?"

She smiled innocently. "It's not _on_ your face really..."

"What is it that's entertaining you?"

"It's your chewing," Sakura answered, feeling very stupid for telling him that.

"My what?"

"Your chewing," she said again. "You have like a pattern to it. You chew on your left side, then the right side, left side again, and then you swallow. You do that every time."

"And that entertained you?"

"For a while..."

_Oh, Kami-sama... he must think I'm some weirdo now._

_Wonderful._

_His first girlfriend is a freak who observes his chewing._

Of all the time she could've been utterly crazy and stupid, she just had to be a weirdo that morning. She was surprised when he started chuckling and went back to eating his breakfast.

"You better start eating so I can find some sort of pattern in your chewing as well," he said.

Sakura giggled. "Good luck with that."

"I will find one... eventually."

"Does this mean you will be staring at my face all the time while I'm eating?"

He smirked. "Oh, I don't think I'd mind looking at you all the time."

Sakura blushed at the slightly hinted meaning behind his comment.

_Day 1 being Li Syaoran's girlfriend note one: Oh yeah... he's definitely a charmer._

zZz

"Good morning. How may I help you today?"

Sakura followed Syaoran into the small bakery from earlier, wondering why he took her there. After breakfast, he mentioned something about 'having their first date'. _This_ was what he meant by their first date—going to a small, rundown bakery down the street?

"Syaoran, you're a little late this morning," said the old woman. "I thought you wouldn't come today."

"I had to wait on someone." Sakura felt embarrassed when he suddenly looked at her teasingly. When he told her that they were going on their first date, she had to get ready—and she meant that she had to get _ready_. It took her at least half an hour or so to choose something nice to wear and put on her make-up.

Whoever said being a woman was an easy thing? It was _not_ easy at all.

"Hi, there! Welcome back," the old woman greeted her.

Sakura bowed politely to her. "T-thank you."

"Have you two met?" Syaoran asked.

"I was here yesterday when you bought the cake," Sakura answered. "Come to think of it... you were the rude jerk who bumped into me and walked off!"

"That was you?" Syaoran rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Oops."

Sakura scoffed at him.

The old woman looked at the two with a lost expression on her face. Syaoran put an arm around Sakura's shoulder and said with a smile, "This is Sakura. She's my girlfriend."

Judging from the tone of voice that Syaoran was using, Sakura guessed that he respected the old woman a lot and thought she should do the same thing. She bowed to the woman again—this time much more polite than last time and with her full respect towards the old woman.

"Oh, Syaoran, this is wonderful news!" the woman cried in joy, quickly giving Sakura a warm hug. "Syaoran, take your girlfriend to the back while I prepare the tea."

Sakura exchanged a quick glance at Syaoran as if asking him what was going on. "I'll explain in a minute," he whispered and led her through the back door. She followed him into a small cozy room that had many pictures hanging on the walls. "I come here every Sunday morning to have tea with Otaka-san," he said. "It has been a tradition ever since Meiling and I came back to the country."

"Meiling lived out of the country, too?" Sakura asked as she looked at some of the pictures hanging on the walls.

"Remember when I said that she was a runaway princess?" he said. "Ran away from home and followed me to Japan."

Sakura giggled lightly. "Have to admire her will. Are these pictures of you as a child?"

"Some were taken before my mom and I moved to America and some were taken in America."

"What is your relationship with the owner of this bakery?"

"She used to be my nanny," he answered. Sakura noticed a slight change in his voice. He didn't sound as happy as he was a moment ago. "She was with me most of my childhood years, and she watched over me after my mother's death. She moved back here when I entered college."

"She's very nice," said Sakura. "I'm amazed that she's running this place all by herself."

Before their conversation could have continued any longer, a very hyper black head ran into the room while screaming, "Obaa-san told me you brought your girlfriend over—Who!? Who?! WHO?!"

Syaoran tried to pry his arm away from the girl, and pointed over to where Sakura was standing with sweat drops down the side of her face.

"H-hello," she greeted nervously.

"Y-you two are d-dating?" the black head seemed speechless. "R-really?"

Sakura nodded. Syaoran held onto Meiling's ponytail before the girl could attempt to smother the breath out of Sakura. "You're forbidden to have any sweets this morning," he said. "Getting too hyper for my liking."

"Aren't you a stick in the mud?" the smaller girl remarked, and the cousins engaged themselves into a friendly argument.

Sakura decided to ignore them and went back to looking at the pictures on the walls. She tried to suppress her giggles while looking at some of Syaoran's childhood pictures. He had went through a lot of changes since he was a little kid—although, he still had that enigmatic look in his eyes that she couldn't seemed to understand. Most of the pictures were of him and his nanny; there were some of him and Meiling also. The girl definitely hadn't changed at all throughout the years. She still wore her hair in two ponytails, and her liveliness still showed in her expressions.

All of the pictures intrigued Sakura, but one in particular captured her eyes immediately. Sitting on a small table by itself in the corner was a framed picture of Syaoran and another woman, whom Sakura guessed to be his mother. The thing that really surprised her about the picture was that Syaoran and his mother were standing at least a foot apart from each other. She didn't feel any warmth between the two, and Syaoran's eyes were darker than usual. There was no smile on his smile, and a smile wasn't visible on his mother's face either.

For a moment, Sakura felt as though they were _trapped_ within themselves. She had never seen Syaoran looking like that before—the Syaoran that she knew was always smiling or flirting. Was this another side to him?

"Tea is ready!" Otaka-san carried a big tray into the room, setting the cups of tea and plates of sweets onto the table. "It's wonderful having you over this morning, Sakura."

Sakura smiled politely and took her seat beside Syaoran at the table. "Thank you for having me. I hope it's not causing you too much trouble."

Meiling snorted. "Oh, please stop with the politeness! You don't have to suck up to Obaa-san just because you're dating Syaoran."

The girl's remark earned a smack from both her cousin and Otaka-san. "I told your parents they shouldn't have spoiled you too much."

"I'm not spoiled!" the black head pouted childishly.

Syaoran stuffed a doughnut into her mouth. "This should keep you quiet for at least five seconds."

"They act like kids all the time," Otaka-san turned to say to Sakura.

"How long have you had the place?" Sakura asked, looking around the room. "It has an antique appeal to it."

The old woman smiled and said, "I've lived in this place as long as I can remember. The business was passed down from my great-grandparents to my grandparents, then my parents, and then my generation." There was a long pause before she continued. "And then I will pass it to Syaoran to carry on the tradition."

The room suddenly turned into stilled silence, except for Syaoran's voice. "Just sell the place," he said impassively.

"I will do no such thing!" the old woman cried out immediately, outraged that he even said such a thing.

Syaoran didn't say anything after that, and neither did everyone else. Sakura sat uncomfortably in her seat, looking between Syaoran and Otaka-san as she felt tension brewing in the air.

Silence continued to fill the atmosphere of the room, and Sakura didn't dare to make any sort of conversation, afraid that she would say the wrong thing. One moment, everyone was smiling and drinking tea; then the next, they were either looking at their feet or the ceiling—were the objects that interesting?

The tension eased up a bit when Syaoran excused himself after Yue called and asked him to fix his cable. Sakura offered to go with him, but he said he would just leave the women to their talk—not like there _was_ a conversation in the first place. Otaka-san left a few moments later also, saying that she had to tend to the shop.

"Sorry about that," said the remaining girl. "You must've felt really uncomfortable about that, right?"

Sakura smiled lightly. "A little bit. Do you mind me asking what that was about?"

"Syaoran and I come to this place every Sunday morning to have tea with Otaka-san—that much he probably told you already." Sakura nodded. "Otaka-san is Syaoran's real grandmother, but he refuses to call her 'obaa-san'. It's not that he _refuses_ to acknowledge her as his grandmother. It's just that he can't accept that fact... yet. Syaoran's mother—my auntie—became pregnant while dating his father..."

"Then he left her, right?"

The black head nodded slowly. "Otaka-san forced her son to leave Syaoran's mother after she found out about the pregnancy. Auntie's parents disowned her, calling her a disgrace to the family, and she was left to have the baby on her own. Syaoran's father died about a year after. After his death, Otaka-san was willing to take Syaoran and his mother in, but she made a clear statement that she will never accept the woman as her daughter in-law or the child as her grandson. She said that she was merely doing charity by taking them in and feeling sorry for them."

"But then she grew to love him?"

"Yeah... a lot."

"When did he found out the truth?"

"After his mother's death. She died when he was fifteen."

"Is that his mother right there?" Sakura pointed to the picture on the small table in the corner.

Meiling nodded with a smile. "Wasn't she pretty?"

"Why are they so...?" Sakura couldn't find the exact word to describe what she wanted to ask.

"Distant?" the other girl offered a hand. "Auntie was more of a coach figure than a mother figure to Syaoran. She was very strict on him. Growing up, Syaoran looked at his mother as an authority figure, but he also respected her—and as much as he denied it, he loved her. After his mother's death, Syaoran was lost for a long time... He didn't know what to do with his life because there was no one to give him orders or tell him what steps to take and how many steps he should take."

"Didn't help much when he found out the truth, right?"

"Yeah..." Meiling said. "He forgave his grandmother, but he couldn't accept the fact that her actions separated his parents."

"If I didn't hear these words from you today myself, I would never have thought that his life had been so hard."

"Syaoran came a very long way to get to where he is today... Sakura, can I ask you a favor?"

Sakura gave the girl a warm smile and a gentle nod. "Anything."

"I've seen him getting hurt in the past, and I love this cousin of mine..." the girl continued slowly. "Please, Sakura..."

Sakura wasn't sure what the girl was asking her to do. "Meiling...?"

"Promise me you won't hurt him... _please._"


	11. Chapter 11

**I'm In Love with a Plumber**

* * *

Rule Number Eleven:  
_Having an affair is harder than it looks.  
Just ask Sakura._

**oOo**

What was the right thing for me to say?

Sakura wondered to herself as she gazed out the window, tuning out most of what her companion was saying. Her mind kept wandering back to Meiling's words. Her request caused quite an uproar in Sakura's mind, because she didn't want to make promises she knew she wasn't able to keep. Sakura knew perfectly well in her mind that it was impossible for her to keep that promise, because she was lying to him already. 

He was going to be hurt no matter what. Hurting him was inevitable, but Sakura didn't want to hurt him. She knew that agreeing to be Syaoran's girlfriend would have some problems to it, but she never really looked at the consequences as a big thing before.

"Sakura, are you listening to me?"

She snapped out of her thoughts. "W-What?"

Syaoran took his eyes off the road and looked at her for a second. "What's wrong? You've been like this ever since we left the bakery."

"I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I'm just thinking about a few things. What were you saying?"

"Where do you want to go first?"

"Where do I want to go first—for what?"

"You tuned me out completely, didn't you?" Sakura smiled guiltily. "For our date." He quickly added, "Unless you don't want to."

"That's not what I meant. How about going to the movies?"

"Movies it is."

Sakura took in a deep breath and studied the man sitting beside her for a bit. Just looking at him made her tumbled inside out with guilt... or was it something else?

zZz

Sakura stared at the screen with bewilderment as she tried to keep her eyes from popping out onto the floor. She quickly slapped a hand over her eyes and turned to face her companion, wondering if he was as uncomfortable by the movie as she was. She wasn't surprised at all to see that Syaoran was enjoying the movie. In fact, he enjoyed _more_ than just the movie. Syaoran took his eyes off the movie screen and looked awkwardly at Sakura when she took off her jacket and handed it to him.

"If you need to use the restroom, I'll tell you the details when you come back."

Sakura giggled, seeing that he was embarrassed. She had to admit. Syaoran looked so _adorable_ when he blushed—and his cuteness had this irresistible charm to it. But just when Sakura thought she had control over the wheels...

"You have a very nice choice of movies," he remarked slyly.

"Look. I didn't know that it was going to be a porno," Sakura retorted. 

How was she supposed to know that it was a porn movie? All of the other movies were sold out—honestly, how many people would actually go to the movies at eleven something in the morning? Didn't they have work or somewhere else they needed to be on that fine, beautiful Sunday afternoon? _Sheesh!_ The churches were open at that time of the hour, weren't they? All those people should be connecting with God, not watching people _connect_ with one another.

Wait... was she talking about other people, or her and Syaoran?

And speaking of her so-called _boyfriend_—the least he could've have done was tell her that the movie she randomly picked was a freaking porn movie. Sakura bet he was _enthusiastic_ about it when she picked that movie. Apparently, he was real satisfied with the movie 'cause his little bunny had been jumping like crazy ever since the first scene came on. It was hopping excitedly in its little play pin, just waiting to come out and play with other bunnies. 

_No wait._ Sakura thought. _That doesn't sound right at all._

Sakura pinched herself back to reality, but she quickly regretted the action because she came back at the climax of the movie. That sure said a lot; considering that it was a _porn_ movie, one could only imagined what the _climax_ was from hearing the word 'porn'.

_Oh yeah_. All of the bunnies in the room were _really_ hopping.

Sakura nearly died of mortification when the movie ended—she couldn't believe that she wasted eight bucks to see that piece of crap! Well... _technically_ speaking, Syaoran paid for the tickets and everything else. But still... rather than throwing away a good sixteen bucks to watch a piece of garbage that she didn't understand at all, they could've shared a delicious 'Couple's Deluxe Sundae' from the ice cream parlor. Twelve flavors of ice cream with mouthwatering hot fudge and caramel topping, whip cream on the side, chewy gumdrops, and a cherry at the top—now _that_ was something good.

The porn movie?

_Note to self: Avoid movies with an X on the poster, especially XXX._

"Movie was good," Syaoran remarked while they were sitting inside the theater's food court.

Sakura snorted. "Are you serious? I didn't get the plot at all!"

He chuckled in amusement. "It was your first porn movie, wasn't it?" He smirked when he saw a tint blush on her cheeks. "Porn movies don't usually have plots that you expect to see in normal movies. They have plots, but they're pretty vague and are usually covered up by the sex scenes."

"Well, aren't you an expert?" Sakura mocked.

"Eriol and I did a little studying back in the old days," he smirked... again.

"Is that why he is so...?" Sakura couldn't find the exact word to describe Eriol's state of condition. Calling him _horny_ was a bit too much—he wasn't quite there... yet.

Syaoran laughed. "He's not a bad man. Why do you hate him so?"

"I don't _hate_ him," said Sakura.

"Then what do you feel toward him?"

"I just loathe him with a strong passion."

"That just means that you hate him." He pointed out as a matter-of-factly.

_Day 1 being Li Syaoran's girlfriend note two: Sakura no likey smart Syaoran._

Sakura sighed. "If I tell you... _promise_ me—" she looked at him dead in the eyes, "—that you won't repeat what I say to him."

"I won't say a single word to him."

"It was the first Christmas after he and Tomoyo met," Sakura started telling the story slowly. "Tomoyo's company hosts a party every year to celebrate. I am invited every year because I am a regular shopper. Tomoyo brought Eriol along that year, and the guy got drunk after a few of Tomoyo's male co-workers tried to mess with him a little bit. I was stuck to watch him while Tomoyo took like an eternity to say goodbye to her boss."

"Eriol was drunk—did he do anything?" Syaoran asked quickly. "I mean... is that why you hate him? ... 'cause he did something... you know?"

"No!" Sakura screamed in horror just thinking about Eriol touching her. "Don't jump to conclusions—but if you should jump to one, please think of a pretty rainbow and fluffy clouds in the sky. Anyway... I was saying that I had to watch the man, and I guess he said something that set me off until today."

"What did he say?"

Sakura motioned for him to bring his head closer, which he did. "Gosh, Sakura—am I resting against you or a wall?!" Syaoran burst out laughing, tears forming in his eyes as he held his stomach in pain. Sakura narrowed her eyes and glared at him. "It's not funny!"

He stopped laughing and said, "You hate him for _that_?"

She knew she shouldn't have told him. "He hit where I'm most sensitive about. It is natural for me to think ill of him after that."

He started laughing again. "I don't think I've ever laughed that hard. Have to give credit to Eriol for coming up with such a line when he's drunk."

"Ha. Ha. Laugh it off, Mr. Li," Sakura grabbed her purse off the table and quickly pushed her chair out. "Let's call today's date a wrap up."

"Sakura, wait!" He called out after her. "Okay... It wasn't funny," he said when he finally caught up with her.

"You don't mean it..."

Syaoran sighed. "I will personally kick Eriol's ass for you, okay?"

"Can I get the first kick?"

"Sure, you can have the first kick."

"I forgive you."

He smirked and warmly wrapped his arms around her waist. "Never said I was sorry..."

_Dang._ She really didn't like the smart Li Syaoran—he was just _too_ cunning. Or was _that_ why she liked him?

"Syaoran, not here. People are watching!"

He ran his hand up and down her back lightly. "So...?"

Sakura recognized two familiar faces heading toward their direction. She quickly grabbed Syaoran by the hand, and hide behind the first thing that came across her mind. Syaoran gave her a weird look, but she didn't pay attention to him. She was too busy looking after her friends. What were they doing there anyway?

"No wonder Tomoyo recommended the movie..." said one of her friends, Naoko. "Chiharu said that she saw the movie with Takashi before, too."

"I didn't get it." Her other friend, Rika, commented. "Why did he ask her to pose for him?"

"Rika, you are just like Sakura!" Naoko said. "So clueless at these things. He paints nude pictures and so..."

Sakura couldn't hear what Naoko was saying anymore because they were getting farther away, but she didn't need to hear anymore to figure out what movie they were talking about. _Yup_. The one and only porn movie she and Syaoran watched together on their first date.

"Ohh... so that's why he asked the girl to pose for him!" She didn't realize that she had screamed it aloud.

Syaoran gave her a weird look. "You didn't know that he was an artist?"

"Unlike you, Mr. Li, I didn't _study_ porn before." She stuck her tongue out at him playfully.

He merely smirked at her behavior before arching his eyebrow. "Sakura... wasn't I about to kiss you?" He asked and she nodded, feeling embarrassed. "Tell me... why are we crouching behind a trash can?"

Sakura just wanted to prevent her friends to seeing them together; she didn't look where she was hiding behind. The trash can seemed like the right place to hide a few moments ago, but why did the idea smell so rotten after a few moments had passed?

"I want to... erm... get down and dirty?" She laughed nervously at her joke. _Get it?_ Down and dirty—they were down on the floor behind a trash can. _Ah, shut it_. She wasn't born to be a comedian, okay?

zZz

_Day 1 being Li Syaoran's girlfriend note three: Never make jokes that he can interpret as dirty and a 'turn on'._

Let's see... how did Sakura's day go?

After the leaving the cinema, Syaoran and Sakura walked around the street a bit, and they stopped at the ice cream parlor to grab a quick milkshake. If Sakura was quick on her feet, she would've known what that would eventually lead to—but unfortunately, she didn't see it coming. After the milkshake, they walked around the block again, and they passed a hot dog stand. Sakura pointed out that she was hungry, but Syaoran said he had something better to give her. _Another_ freaking hint.

Sakura called him cheap. He said he was only being a _man_.

Syaoran picked out a pretty high-class restaurant for lunch, and they enjoyed the good food and entertainment that was offered to them. After paying the bill, Syaoran asked Sakura if she would like to have more entertainment. And that eventually led to...

"Syaoran, s-stop... what if someone s-sees us?" Sakura protested as Syaoran practically carried her into the men's restroom. "W-We can't d-do it here!"

"And why not? Expensive restaurants are only good if their restrooms are useful as well," he said, staring lustfully into her eyes. "Your comment did a little something, Sakura... after how this whole day started..."

Sakura gulped.

_Hoee._

_I knew Eriol's condition is contagious!_

"Sakura, look at me..." He whispered softly into her ears. "I'm not going to do anything you don't want me to. Tell me when you want to stop... okay?"

She smiled and nodded before their lips locked again, heated by a strong passion of lust and hunger. As their lips met, Sakura could feel a passion that was reflected in her own soul. Syaoran's eager tongue pressed against hers as they took turns sliding into each other's mouth. A second kiss followed, then a third and fourth one followed. Sakura felt herself backing up against the wall, and Syaoran began kissing his way down to her collarbone, leaving soft pecks along the way.

_Day 1 being Li Syaoran's girlfriend note four: Damn. He's good._

Chills ran down her spine when he slid his hand under her shirt, flesh against flesh giving her a tingly feeling inside.

"Syaoran..." she said with bated breath.

He quickly placed a chaste kiss on her lips and said, "It's okay..." He kissed her again. "Just tell me—" And again, "—if you want me to stop."

And one more kiss.

_My God..._

A girl was only able to take as much... 

Sakura pushed herself against him in an intense kiss. She let out a surprised yelp when she felt a hard bulge pressing against her pelvis. _Uh-oh_, she thought. _Bad bunny. Down bunny. Down._

Okay, the bunny wasn't doing what it was told.

They jumped in shock when they heard the door slammed open. Syaoran quickly pulled them into a stall, and Sakura found their bodies smacked into each other. Sakura shifted uncomfortably in his arms and took a step away from him, giving him time to _cool down_.

"Are you sure we should do it here?" they heard a female voice said.

"Expensive restaurants are only good if their restrooms are useful as well," a male voice answered.

Sakura rolled her eyes and look at Syaoran. "All guys think alike huh?" She whispered to him.

"Shh," was all he said.

"Takashi!" cried the other girl. "You're so bad."

Sakura's eyes widened when she realized who the other couple was. What a small world she lived in indeed.

_Hoeee!_

She rubbed her temples to calm herself down. It didn't help either when her friends started getting louder and louder. _Oh, Kami-sama..._ It looked like Eriol and Tomoyo weren't the only ones with a wild appetite. What seemed to be minutes at first turned into half an hour to an hour. Syaoran made himself comfortable by sitting on the toilet, with Sakura sitting on his lap. Sakura didn't dare to make sound, afraid that she was going to get caught by her friends—that would've been hell.

No one knew that Sakura was betrothed except for her family and Tomoyo, not even Eriol knew about it. If Chiharu saw Sakura inside the men's room with a man, she was going to tell the other girls, one of them being Tomoyo. Then the news would eventually spread to her sister-in-law, because Nakuru had sources everywhere. Then, she would tell her husband about it, who would repeat what he heard to her father, and her life would be over by the next day.

"Damn. How long are they going to take?" Syaoran growled under his breath. "Who are fucked up enough to do this at a public restroom anyway?"

Sakura silently rolled her eyes.

_Uhm... hello? ... US!_ She wanted to scream at him, but restrained herself from doing so.

Sakura bet that God was looking down and laughing at her at that very moment.

_Note to self: Visit God for a nice little chat._

Sakura and Syaoran eventually escaped out of the restroom while Takashi and Chiharu were busy with their youthful activities. They did the couple a favor by posting a sign on the door that said 'Beware the Bunnies'. They were laughing hysterically when they walked out of the restaurant, cracking jokes about their recent experience. No wonder restrooms were called rest_rooms_.

"Where do you want to go next?"

"How about the mall?"

Sakura decided to take the safe route. The mall was a big place, and many people went there on the weekend. So the chances of Sakura running into someone she knew were pretty slim, right?

zZz

_Note to self: Skip the chat and just strangle God when you see him._

"Sakura?"

_Darn it!_

Sakura cursed to herself and did the first thing that came to her mind: dropped Syaoran's hand and pushed him aside as far away from her as possible. She turned around and walked towards the couple with a sweet smile on her face. "H-Hi... what are you doing here?"

"I should ask you that!"

"Shopping," Sakura answered.

"By yourself?" Black eyes looked at her skeptically.

Sakura scowled at him. "Aren't you supposed to be on a two days trip?"

"I came home a day earlier than scheduled," he answered. "Your turn to answer me."

"I don't have to answer to you." Sakura resorted to a childish attempt to get the man off her back.

The black head smirked at her before turning to look at his girlfriend. "You said you wanted to meet the friend I introduced Sakura to, right?"

Sakura's eyes widened at his words. He wouldn't dare—!

Tomoyo nodded excitedly. _Oh, Kami-sama..._ Sakura thought. _I am so screwed._

Speaking of Syaoran... she kind of forgot about him for a bit.

"_Hoeeee!_" Sakura panicked when she remembered that she had recklessly pushed him into a trash can. She quickly ran back to the spot where they were last standing together and found him lying on the floor, covered in garbage. "I am so sorry!"

"My God, Syaoran!" Eriol cried out when he saw his friend. "What happened?"

"You mean... that's your friend?" Tomoyo asked, looking at Syaoran up and down before giggling to herself. "Oiii... you were right, Sakura. He's definitely a cutie."

"Tomoyo!" Sakura and Eriol shrieked at the same time.

"Eriol, be a good friend and buy me a set of clothes." Syaoran stood up and looked at the mess in disgust. "I'll be in the restroom." He prepared to walk away, but not before turning to Sakura and whispering very huskily into her ears, "And you, my dear, we'll discuss your _punishment_ later."

He gave her a peck on the lips and walked away.

Sakura wanted to die in the spot for two reasons. One, Syaoran just kissed her in front of Tomoyo—that meant the cat was out of the bag. Two, _dang._ He was just too irresistible.

"OH MY GOSH!" Tomoyo squealed in her highest pitch as soon as the men were gone. "SAKURA!"

"I know..." Sakura sighed silently.

"So... what?" Her friend pulled her over to a bench and sat themselves down. "Tell me everything—and I mean _everything_."

"He asked me to be his girlfriend," Sakura started saying. "And I kind of said 'yes'... and now we're dating."

"Since—"

"When? Just last night."

"How did it—"

"Start... begin... develop? It just started after living with him for a while I guess..."

"Does he know that you're—"

"Betrothed? Haven't told him yet."

"So you're basically—"

"Lying to him? Yes, I know."

"When are you—"

"Going to tell him? I don't know. What?" Sakura said when Tomoyo suddenly crossed her arms with a big frown on her face.

"Stop cutting me off!"

"S-Sorry..."

"So what are you going to do?"

Sakura sighed again. "I don't know... I like him. I really do."

Tomoyo let out her signature squeal... _again_—followed by a 'Kawaii!'. Sakura started telling Tomoyo about her conversation with Meiling, but leaving out the details that she thought Syaoran didn't appreciate her telling. She ended up telling her friend about the promise she _slightly_ promised the other black head girl.

"You promised her that you won't hurt him? Sakura!"

"She looked so sad!" Sakura protested. "And I was feeling guilty about lying to him!"

"So what will you do?"

"I will tell him the truth when it is time," said Sakura. "And hope that neither of us will get too attached with each other. Maybe... if we don't get too involved with our feelings, then no one will get hurt."

"What will happen though," asked her friend, "if the feeling turns into love?"

_Especially mine..._


	12. Chapter 12

**I'm In Love with a Plumber**

* * *

Rule Number Twelve:  
_They say that when you're inside the circle,  
Sometimes you can't see things clearly._

**oOo**

"Maybe we should get them a pool table," said Sakura as she flipped through a catalog, looking for the perfect gift to give Eriol and Tomoyo.

Syaoran groaned exasperatedly, wrapping his arms around her waist as they sat cozily on the couch. "You know it's just going to be a waste of our money. I don't know about your friend, but Eriol has a very _feral_ appetite."

"Trust me..." Sakura sighed. "Tomoyo takes half of the credit. It takes _two_ to make a mess."

He laughed. "Why do we have to go to their place for dinner? Shouldn't we let them celebrate their anniversary together—just the two of them?"

"I'm not excited about seeing _his_ face for hours either," she sighed and rested her head onto his shoulder. "I don't think I'm going to be able to swallow my food."

"Close your eyes and chew."

"Yeah... like that's going to work!" She scoffed. "So what should we get them?"

"They're going to end up having sex no matter what, so why not get them condoms?"

Sakura's eyes nearly popped out. "Are you serious?!"

"Why not?" He shrugged lightly. "Condoms are cheap—the perfect gift to a sexually active couple."

"What would they think of us though?"

"That we're good friends, and we're only thinking of their well being. After all, we don't want them leaving any mess they can't clean up."

Sakura sighed. He _did_ have a very good point. "There's a convenience store down the corner," she said. "Don't take too long."

He smiled slyly. "Going to miss me?"

"Hardly." Sakura snorted. "I just don't want to be late. _Go_ already!"

Syaoran reluctantly released her from his arms and left.

After he left, Sakura threw the catalog magazine onto the table and walked into the bathroom. She opened the cabinet to get her make-up kit when she caught glimpse of her reflection in the mirror. She giggled to herself slightly, seeing how ridiculously funny she looked in Syaoran's shirt. She recently discovered the week before that wearing a man's shirt (but not just _any_ man) was _much_ more comfortable than wearing jammies.

Syaoran even encouraged Sakura to wear anything of his that she liked.

It was _weird_, but yet adorable at the same time.

Two weeks.

They had been dating for two weeks already.

Two long, wonderful weeks.

Although Syaoran was still a mystery to Sakura, she felt as though she was starting to get to know him better—the _real_ him. They had fun together. Lots and lots of fun. In fact, Sakura had never felt this way towards any guy before. Sure, she had crushes before. And even though she had no experience in dating or whatsoever, she could tell that this—what it was—wasn't a simple crush. It was _different_.

Being Syaoran's girlfriend had been like a roller coaster ride.

She never knew what was waiting for her at the other drop or loop.

"Coming!" Sakura ran to answer the door when she heard the doorbell. "Don't tell me you forgot the keys—" She stopped in the middle of her sentence when she saw that it wasn't Syaoran standing at the door. She smiled apologetically. "May I help you?"

"The landlord told me that I can find Li Syaoran here," a man with black hair said.

"He went out a few minutes ago. Do you want to come inside and wait?" Sakura asked. The man nodded, and Sakura opened the door wider to let him in. "Would you like something to drink?"

"Water, please." The man walked around the room while looking at some of the paintings on the wall. "May I ask what is your connection with Syaoran?" the man asked as Sakura handed him a glass of water.

Sakura smiled. "I'm his secretary."

"He is living with his secretary?"

She chuckled nervously, preferring not to get into the details. The man saw that and just smiled, resuming to looking at the paintings. 

"How do you know him?" Sakura asked.

"I'm a colleague of his."

"You're a plumber, too?"

He laughed and shook his head before looking at his watch. "Do you know when I can get a hold of him?"

"He should be back soon. He just ran down to the convenience store to get something," answered Sakura.

And as if it was his cue, Syaoran busted through the door as if a dog was chasing him.

"The convenience store didn't have any more condo—whoa—Taguchi!"

A sly grin appeared on the man's face. "What were you saying, Syaoran?"

"Taguchi, it's not what you think."

"Since when did you become so timid about admitting your sexual relationship?"

Sakura's face was turning a deep shade of red. And it definitely did not help the situation when she remembered that she was only wearing Syaoran's shirt. She quickly hid behind Syaoran, embarrassed that she had opened the door without pants on.

_Hoe._

Life really sucked.

"It's just a relationship right now. Nothing sexual yet." He answered.

_Yet...?_ Sakura asked in her mind, not wanting to think about his answer.

Taguchi shot a smile at Sakura. "So the rumors are true—the King of Hearts is settling down. I am honored to be in your presence, Miss."

Syaoran pulled Sakura out from behind him. "Don't worry. He doesn't bite."

Sakura blushed. "I'm sorry for not introducing myself earlier. It's nice to meet you, too. My name is Kinomoto Sakura."

The glass of water suddenly slipped out of the owner's hand and shattered into tiny pieces on the wooden floor.

"I'll clean that up." She went to grab some paper towels.

"I'm s-sorry," Taguchi stuttered. "But did you say Kinomoto—you're the daughter of Kinomoto Fujitaka?"

"Yes. Is something wrong, Taguchi-san?"

"N-No. I'm just a big fan of your father's work," the black head said with a smile. "I've been to a few of his lectures before, and I think he is very a brilliant man."

"By the way," Syaoran interrupted the conversation. "What are you doing here?"

Taguchi smiled. "Work."

"Great. I haven't seen you in months, and the first thing you want to see me about is work? And you don't even have the decency to bring me a souvenir!"

"Skyscrapers aren't going to build themselves," the black head remarked. "But I'm not an unreasonable guy. I'll meet up with you later when you're not _busy_. Please give your father my best regards, Sakura."

"Come visit any time you want."

The couple walked their guest over to the door, and Syaoran offered to walk Taguchi out to the lobby. Sakura took the opportunity to go change into something that didn't give people the _wrong_ ideas. She walked back out into the living room to find Syaoran sweeping up the pieces of broken glass.

"Maybe you should explain to him about today when you see him next time." Sakura leaned onto the doorway.

"Already did," he answered. "But you know—do we _have_ to give the condoms to Eriol and his girlfriend? I say we keep them."

"I am not going to have sex with you!" Sakura exclaimed.

"You sure you don't want a sexual relationship? It's two in one."

Sakura snorted. "You are hopeless."

Syaoran sighed exasperatedly. "We better hurry and go to the drug store if we don't want to be late for dinner."

"I just thought of the perfect gift!" Sakura exclaimed. "And it's going to piss Eriol off so much!"

Syaoran cocked an eyebrow at her strangely. "This is their anniversary, and you _want_ to piss him off?"

She nodded with an evil look in her eyes.

"You really hate him, don't you?"

"I don't _hate_ him!"

"Well, we're meeting at their place in an hour."

"I just need to go buy my gift from the toy store."

"What _kind of _toy store? Can we get something while we're there?"

"You need to keep away from Eriol. His mind is contagious."

Syaoran laughed as he followed her out the door. "You sure you don't want to think about the two-in-one thing? It's a good deal."

"Syaoran, if you don't shut up then I'm going to cut it off."

She meant their relationship. But knowing Syaoran and his so-called _mind_, he probably thought of the _other_ thing. He was definitely adorable when he was obedient, or scared—whichever one it was.

zZz

"What's this?" Eriol eyed Sakura suspiciously as she slid some sort of handout paper across the dining table.

Sakura smiled cutely. "It's my anniversary present to you, _Eriol-kun_!"

The sugary sweetness in her voice caused Eriol to drop his fork and Tomoyo to choke on her drink. Tomoyo reached over the table and felt Sakura's forehead while Eriol was pinching himself over and over, mumbling something along of 'waking up from the dream'.

Syaoran almost snorted if it wasn't for Sakura's extremely pointy heels on top of his foot. _God_. He was going to feel the pain later.

"Really!" Sakura said sweetly. "This is _my_ present to you, Eriol-kun. I hope you will like it, because I put _a lot_ of thought into it."

Eriol glanced at the paper with a skeptical look. "You put a lot of thought into a piece of paper?"

"Read it."

"I would like to announce that this is _all_ her." Syaoran threw a small box to Eriol. "_That_ is my present."

Tomoyo sweat dropped.

"Syaoran, you are _too_ thoughtful." Eriol remarked dryly and put the box in his pockets. He might need it for later. He turned to look at Sakura again, and then he looked at the piece of paper on the table before picking it up. A red shade suddenly colored his entire face.

Sakura smiled coyly. "I thought perhaps the four of us can enjoy _this_ after dinner. What do you think... _Eriol-kun_?"

The dark haired man looked like a frozen statue—that sweated a lot. Tomoyo, wondering what had caused him to act so strangely, took the paper from his hands and looked over it briefly. "_SEX_!?" she screeched.

Syaoran smirked. "Read the rest. It gets better."

**Ten reasons why SEX is a fun game:**

**1) It's safe and easy.  
2) It's a healthy hobby.  
3) It's a great way to spend time with someone.  
4) It releases stress.  
5) It kicks the boredom out of life.  
6) It brings everyone together into one room.  
7) It's a great exercise for the mind.  
8) It keeps everyone up all night and having fun.  
9) You can enjoy SEX with just anybody at any given time.  
10) The more the merrier**—**three or even four at a time!**

**Who will be at the top and who will be at the bottom? Try SEX and find out!**

"Sakura, you can't be serious!" Tomoyo cried out, her face as red as a tomato.

"It'll be fun," Sakura grinned. "The four of us enjoying SEX—it'll be a _scream_!"

Tomoyo looked like she was about to faint, and all of the colors were drained out of Eriol's face. Syaoran gently nudged Sakura with his elbow, indicating that the joke had went on long enough and that it was time to break it off. Sakura giggled and pulled out a box from the bag under her chair.

"I hope you like my present." Sakura handed the present to Tomoyo, seeing some relief on the girl's face at first; but it was quickly replaced by an embarrassed expression.

"Scrabble Extreme X?" the girl read slowly. "You mean... SEX is actually—? Sakura, you _devil_! You scared half of my life away!"

"Of course! What did you think it was?" Sakura put on an innocent look. And Eriol's face turned pure white with red flames burning in his eyes as he glared daggers at Sakura.

She already knew the answer, but the expression on Eriol's face was just oh-so-priceless.

"_Thank you_ for your wonderful gift, Sakura-chan." Eriol clenched his teeth together. "I'll _never_ forget the _love_ that you put into it. In fact, I will _return_ your thoughtfulness once Christmas arrives. Better yet—because you are being _such_ a dear—I will make sure to prepare a _special_ present for you on every holiday _and_ your birthday!"

Sakura suddenly didn't feel so good anymore.

"I told you to go with condoms." Syaoran whispered softly into her ears.

She smiled nervously, avoiding the death looks a certain dark head man was giving her for humiliating him. He should really learn how to take a joke. It was a joke!

A mean one—but it was still a joke nevertheless.

"Tomoyo, I think it's time to bring out the desserts," said Syaoran, tensely. After the girl left the room, he quickly turned to his girlfriend and best friend. "Okay. Say what you both need to say and move on."

Sakura pouted. Eriol scoffed.

"Stop acting so damn childish." Syaoran rolled his eyes. "My Lord. Never thought I'd have to deal with you two."

Eriol regained a cool expression on his face. "You first or me first?" He looked at Sakura.

"At the same time," she answered.

Syaoran held one finger up, then another one, and finally the third finger shot up.

"_I hate you_!"

Sakura tweaked her left ear, wondering where the echo was coming from.

"Wow," said the other guy. "I feel a lot better."

"Same here."

"Agree to pretend this never happened?" He proposed.

Sakura nodded. "Agree to continue to despise each other?"

"Agree."

"Wow. I feel like we're getting to know each other better—I think I might start to like you."

He scoffed. "Please, _don't_."

_Note to self: Make up a plan to kill him in his sleep._

"Now... don't we all feel better?" Syaoran said, just in time as Tomoyo brought out a plate of desserts. "Tomoyo, I love you already!" Eriol shot him a glare and Sakura stomped on his feet... _again_. "It's a meaningless comment people!"

Eriol adjusted his glasses. "Keep your _meaningless_ comment to yourself."

"Exactly!" Sakura agreed.

First time they both agreed on something—and the thing wasn't how much they loved each other _to death_.

"By the way..." Syaoran started on another subject. "Taguchi asked me to tell you that he can't make it to your party this weekend."

"That guy. I am telling you—he loves work more than he loves himself."

"Well, Syaoran, now I see why you're all friends." Sakura laughed, earning a glare from the men. "What? You _are_ work addicts!"

"What party is this, Eriol?" Tomoyo joined in on the conversation.

"Taguchi is much worse," said the dark head. "And it's to celebrate a new contract. Your brother is going to be there, Sakura."

"Touya?" Sakura was surprised to hear that. "He's back?"

Eriol nodded. "I saw your brother and sister at the airport two weeks ago."

"They didn't come home though." Sakura started to panic. "Do you think something happened to them—like a kidnap of some sort?"

"They probably want some time alone, Sakura. I doubt they are tied and gagged. Don't scare yourself." Syaoran gently rubbed her arm. "Why don't we enjoy a quick round of SEX after dinner? I know Eriol is _dying_ to play!"

"Shut up before I shove this pudding down your throat—_and_ the spoon."

And the night continued with Eriol and Sakura showing how much they 'loved' each other.

zZz

"I _hate_ the stupid game—who created Scrabble anyway? It is _so_ stupid!" Sakura stomped her way into the main lobby.

Syaoran laughed, following after her. "Sakura, you shouldn't hold a grudge against the game just because Eriol beat you at it."

Sakura pouted. "I think he actually _loved_ the present."

"Let it go," Syaoran said.

Yue looked up from the book he was reading. "Sakura, your sister is waiting for you outside your apartment."

"Nee-chan! Syaoran, what are we going to do? Your things are still in my apartment!"

Syaoran arched an eyebrow at her questioningly. "Is that a problem? ...that your _boyfriend_ is living with you...?"

_Yes, it's a problem!_

_I'm not supposed to have a boyfriend_—_I have a fianc__é_!

_Hoeee._

"Sakura?"

"I can't really explain right now. Can you pretend to be _just_ my roommate?" Sakura couldn't tell if Syaoran was surprised or mad—she hadn't learned to read his expressions yet. "Syaoran? I'm sorry... it's just—"

"No, I understand." He headed for the elevator.

Yue pretended that he didn't see anything and walked into the restroom. Sakura cursed at herself and walked into the elevator, sensing tension in the atmosphere. The ride up was silent as neither her nor Syaoran said anything. Syaoran stood at least three feet away from her.

The doors opened and Sakura saw a brown haired woman standing outside her apartment with suitcases and all.

"Nakuru?"

The woman turned to look at Sakura. "H-hey..."

"I heard from Eriol that you guys came back two weeks ago. Why didn't you come home?"

Sakura thought there was something weird about Nakuru's smile. 

It didn't look natural. 

"Can I stay with you for a while?"

"What's wrong?" Sakura pulled the older woman into a warm hug.

"Touya and I..." Nakuru said between tears. "We're getting a divorce."


	13. Chapter 13

**·°·°·°·°·°·°·°·°·°·°·°·°·°·°·°·°·  
§ I'm In Love with a Plumber**

* * *

Rule Number Thirteen:  
_Selfishness always lead to something.  
Paper can't wrap fire._  
**·°·°·°·°·°·°·°·°·°·°·°·°·°·°·°·°·**

Sakura walked out to the living room after setting her sister's suitcases in her room, finding Syaoran packing his things together. He turned to look at her with a soft smile when he detected her presence.

"Hey... are you alright?" He asked, quickly dropping the shirt he was holding to walk over to her. "Come here."

Sakura walked into his arms. "I'm sorry..."

"For what?"

"For making that stupid request earlier... and for this," she said.

Syaoran rubbed her shoulder gently. "It's okay, Sakura. It's better if I leave you two alone. I'll just be next door. If you ever miss me, just drop by."

"You wish I'd miss you," she said jokingly.

"Where's your sister?" he asked.

Sakura looked up at him, confused. "In the shower. Why?"

He leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips. "You don't have to go to work. Take the time to be with your sister," he said.

Sakura suddenly felt ashamed of herself.

"Syaoran, why are you so... _caring_?" she asked softly.

"Because you're my girlfriend."

_That's right... I'm his girlfriend_, Sakura thought. He was all hers; but she wasn't _all_ his—and Sakura felt ashamed of that.

"Sakura?" They quickly pulled apart when Nakuru entered the room. "Oh, I'm sorry... I haven't introduced myself to your roommate yet," she said.

"Actually... I'm just her neighbor." Syaoran said before Sakura could open her mouth. "I had to remodel my apartment, and bunked here for awhile."

"Oh, I see."

Sakura watched as Syaoran went back to gathering his things. "I'll see you ladies later," he said when he was done. "And I'll see you this weekend." He whispered softly into Sakura's ears as he walked by when Nakuru wasn't paying attention.

This weekend—Eriol's party.

She walked him to the door. "I'll see you in the morning," she mouthed to him quietly.

She waited for him to enter his apartment before closing the door, letting out a heavy sigh.

"He was cute," her sister said.

"H-Hoe?!"

Nakuru smiled. "He looks familiar though. Can't remember if I've seen him already."

"He's a friend of Eriol," Sakura explained. "Probably seen Syaoran with him before."

"Syaoran... that's his name?" the older woman tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Does he have any older brothers?"

"Nee-chan!" Sakura screeched. "Don't tell me you're looking for a different husband already!"

Nakuru smiled sadly. "I have to start somewhere with my life, Sakura..."

Sakura sighed and sat down beside the woman quietly. She knew that Nakuru wasn't really looking for a different husband—heck, the woman was hardly looking for anything! She just wanted to try to get her mind off the subject of divorce for a bit.

"What happened?" Sakura asked. "Why did you and Onii-chan decide on this all of a sudden? And why didn't you two come home?"

"Your brother and I had a great time on our second honeymoon. Everything went great. I really enjoyed every second of the vacation."

"Then what happened?"

"We started fighting again—the usual. We came back to Japan early, but we didn't want to alarm you and Otou-san so we went to a hotel instead." Nakuru spoke slowly. "There was not one decent conversation between us—there was not a single hello or goodbye that didn't ended with us yelling at each other. It was just constant screaming and cursing from one another. I've had all I can take, Sakura..."

So Nakuru was the one that wanted the divorce.

Why?

Sakura knew for a fact that Nakuru didn't want to have a divorce. She could tell that her brother and the woman were very much in love with each other, but what was causing problems between them?

"I've been married to your brother since I was eighteen—ten long years of my life," she said, folding her hands neatly in front of her. "My friends and family constantly ask me if I regret my decision. If I regret throwing away the most important years of my life to become a bird in a cage, trapped by a thing called marriage."

"Do you?"

"No. I don't regret marrying your brother. I married him because I loved him... but time changes a lot of things, Sakura. Even though love never changes, the person can change."

"Touya still loves you a lot."

"Yes... but he has also found another kind of love—work. All my life I've only dreamed of becoming a mother. I'm not growing any younger, Sakura. In the beginning, he wanted to wait until his work has settled down. We waited. One year turned into two years and two quickly turned into eight."

"You can always adopt," Sakura said. "If children are what setting you two apart—"

"It's not just children. I just can't live my life like this anymore. I've had enough." Tears streamed down her cheeks. "For once, I want to enjoy life and not have to wait for someone to make things happen. I want to make up for the years I lost."

"Nee-chan..."

"Your brother and I agreed that time apart might do us some good."

"So you're really getting a divorce?" the woman nodded. "Nothing I do or say can change your mind?"

She nodded again. "Touya and I already broke the news to Otou-san before I came over here."

"How did he take it?"

"He trusts us to decide what the right decision is."

Sakura hugged the woman tightly. "You will always be my 'Nee-chan."

Nakuru returned the hug, a smile appearing on her face. "So, Sakura... the picture on the bathroom wall..."

zZz

The next morning, Sakura made sure to wake up extra early to run an important _errand_. She took a quick shower, slipped into an outfit for the day, and quietly tiptoed out of the apartment; making sure not to wake up her sister-in-law (or soon to be _ex_-sister-in-law). She glanced around in all directions before looking behind a flowerpot outside Syaoran's apartment, remembering what he had said about an extra key to his apartment.

Sakura _almost_ had the key when suddenly...

"What are you doing?" a voice said behind her.

She jumped, hitting her head into the wall. "Hoee! That hurts..."

Nakuru looked at her strangely. "What are you doing out here, Sakura?"

"I was... er... going to take a walk around the um... neighborhood then I saw a cockroach and I was er... trying to um... look for it."

And she won the award for coming up with the lamest excuse of the century.

"There are cockroaches in this place? We should complain to the health department," said Nakuru.

_Great_.

Yue was going to kill Sakura for her excuse.

"N-No, it's okay. Let's just go." Sakura headed towards her apartment.

"But I thought you're going to walk around the neighborhood."

Sakura turned back and headed for the elevator. "Y-Yeah! I am."

"Great! You can show me around, and then we can get lunch together!"

"Yeah... great." Sakura muttered quietly.

zZz

The _next_ day...

Sakura poured herself a glass of milk while looking at the message on her phone. She quickly gulped the glass down and grabbed the garbage bag she had beside her on the floor.

"I'm taking out the trash, okay?" she called out to her sister.

"Okay!"

Sakura practically ran out the door and down the hall to the elevator, getting in just before the doors closed.

"You could've waited!" she sneered at the other man.

"That's for not showing up yesterday."

Sakura sighed. "I was looking for the key, and my sister showed up. Then she dragged me all around town, and we didn't get home until after dark."

"Were you tired?"

"Yes." Sakura answered. "Syaoran, we haven't pressed a button yet."

"You're right." He suddenly pressed the twelfth floor button. "What do you know? Clumsy me."

Sakura giggled. "You are so corny."

"And do you know what that rhymes with?" he smirked.

"Syaoran, don't you dare—!"

He reached over from where he was standing to grab her hand. "I'm just kidding, Sakura." He said as they held hands, separated by a garbage bag between them. "What should we do next? You can't take out the trash every day."

"I'm doing the laundry tomorrow." Sakura said just as the elevator stopped moving and the doors slid open.

Yue stared at the two with a weird look before noticing the garbage bag on the floor. "This is the twelfth floor," he said in a monotone voice. "The garbage bin is on the ground floor."

Syaoran smirked. "We know."

The silver-haired man snorted and stepped into the elevator.

"Yue..." Syaoran muttered. "Take the stairs."

And with that, he pushed the other man out of the elevator before closing the doors.

zZz

The day afterward...

Sakura and Syaoran stood beside each other, each with a different magazine in their hands as they waited for their "laundry" to be done.

"You know you're only washing a pair of socks." Sakura said to him behind her magazine.

"Was too lazy to gather my dirty laundry," he replied. "And Yue wouldn't let me in if I didn't have anything to wash."

He pointed to his bare feet.

"You're really something."

"How's your sister?"

"She's actually taking the situation a lot better than I thought she would." Sakura sighed. "If you don't count the crying at night when she thinks I'm not around, I say she's doing pretty good."

"Why don't you try talking to your brother? Tell him to persuade her."

"Because knowing my brother, he's probably miserable right now. And because they're both hardheaded chumps, they won't listen to anybody. Otherwise, my Otou-san would've talked them out of it, but he knows how stubborn they are so he didn't."

"Everything will work out. Don't worry." Syaoran assured her quietly.

"Yeah..."

"Eriol's party is tomorrow." He said while flipping through his magazine, looking for the good stuffs. "Meiling wants you to come over for dinner tonight."

"Got any ideas for excuses?" Sakura asked.

"If my socks just happen to get mixed up with your laundry, it's only polite if you return them to me... right?"

Sakura glanced down at his feet. "You're barefooted."

"If you want, I can just wash my pants or shirt and we can use that instead of my socks." He said. "Then all these women can gaze at my naked chest or my underwear."

"On the other hand!" she quickly said. "You have plenty of spare socks left."

Syaoran grinned. "And when you return the socks to me, I'd thank you by inviting you to stay for dinner. It's foolproof."

"_Man_, you two are pathetic!" Yue was standing behind them all along, listening into their conversation and trying not to laugh his ass off. He walked off, snickering to himself.

"Come over at eight."

She nodded lightly. "Oh, and Syaoran?"

"Hm?"

"Did you _have_ to bring a bikini magazine to read?"

zZz

"Hey, Sakura, let's go out tonight!"

"W-what?"

"Let's go out tonight!" The woman just _had_ to pick one minute before eight o'clock to suggest the idea. "C'mon! Let's go eat meals cooked by someone else."

Sakura sighed. _Forty-five seconds until eight_.

"Okay... let's go." She gave in. "But I have to return something to Syaoran."

"What?"

"His socks mixed with my laundry this afternoon." She said, holding up the pair of socks.

"We'll just drop by, give it to him, and go!" Nakuru was dragging Sakura out the door before she could say anything.

The women stood outside in the hall as they waited for someone to open the door after ringing the doorbell. The door opened up and Syaoran was seen with a look that said 'What the hell is your sister doing here?' to Sakura.

"Can I help you?" he said instead.

Sakura smiled nervously. "Your socks mixed with my laundry this afternoon."

Syaoran took the socks from Sakura. "Thank you." What he really meant was 'So do I still invite you to dinner?'.

"You're welcome." And what she meant was 'I don't know'.

"Sakura, aren't you going to come in?" Meiling came to the door.

Sakura quickly looked at Syaoran as if telling him to do something before her sister got suspicious.

"Why don't you two join us for dinner?" he asked.

Meiling was confused. "Didn't you tell me you already invited—" Syaoran quickly put a hand over her mouth.

"We were just planning to go out to eat," said Nakuru. "We wouldn't want to intrude on you..."

"It is not a problem at all!" Syaoran pushed Meiling into the kitchen and invited the women in.

"May I use your restroom to wash my hands?" Nakuru asked politely.

Syaoran directed the woman to the bathroom and waited for her to be out of sight before pulling Sakura into the kitchen. "What happened?" he asked.

"She suggested we go out to eat all of a sudden!"

"Who is she?" Meiling asked.

"My sister-in-law."

The black head made an 'oh' shape with her mouth. "What's the problem? Doesn't she know you two are going out?" Sakura and Syaoran both looked at the floor. "You're not serious!"

Syaoran threw a hand over her mouth. "She's going through a divorce."

"What?"

Sakura nodded.

"I still don't see why you two aren't telling her though," the black head commented. "Not like your relationship is causing the divorce."

Sakura knew that Meiling brought up a very good point. She looked at Syaoran closely, finding a strange expression on his face. He gave her a soft smile and said, "Let's just eat dinner. I hardly saw you this week, let's not worry about things that just aren't important."

Forcing up a smile, Sakura walked over to the round table and sat down beside Syaoran. Nakuru walked into the room a few seconds later and seated herself between Sakura and Meiling. "Thank you for inviting us," she said.

Meiling smiled. "I'm not much of a cook. I hope you won't mind."

"My name is Akizuki Nakuru," the woman introduced herself. "I don't think I've introduced myself properly."

_Nee-chan... _Sakura thought. _She used her maiden name._

"Li Meiling. I'm Syaoran's cousin."

As if reading Sakura's thoughts, Syaoran reached under the table to hold her hand reassuringly—letting her know that everything was going to be okay.

Sitting beside her then and holding her hand was a man that had never failed to bring a smile to her face—but yet, she was lying to him, and she was lying to her family.

What was wrong with her?

She was always panicking, afraid that her affair would leak out. She was always worrying about herself. Even when her own sister-in-law had come to her with a problem, she hardly did anything to help. She had only worried about _being caught_.

Was she that kind of person—the kind that only worried about themselves?

She didn't stop to think about how Syaoran—her _boyfriend_—had felt, just because he didn't say anything. She knew that he was probably wondering why they had to keep their relationship a secret—they didn't _have_ a reason to.

She took his silence for granted, thinking that he was okay with everything. But it wasn't until she had stopped thinking about herself for a minute to look at him and realized how disappointed he was.

She felt an aching pain in her heart when she saw the smile on Syaoran's face.

"Sakura, is everything okay?" Meiling asked. "You haven't touched your dinner. Is the food bad?"

"N-no! That's not it!" Sakura quickly regained herself together. "Nee-chan...?"

Nakuru looked up from her dinner. "Hm?"

"I don't think I introduced Syaoran properly to you," she said. She felt a squeeze from Syaoran as if saying she didn't have to do it. She turned to look at him. "It's okay."

Syaoran looked at Nakuru and nodded politely.

"Nee-chan, this is Li Syaoran... he's my boyfriend."

Nakuru fell out of her chair.


	14. Chapter 14

**I'm In Love with a Plumber**

* * *

Rule Number Fourteen:  
_When God presents one problem,  
There's always a second one waiting._

**oOo**

"W-what!?" the older woman finally found her voice after ten or fifteen minutes. "He's your _what_!?"

"My boyfriend," Sakura answered.

"Your _WHAT_!?"

Meiling covered her ears. "Her boyfriend. Dang it, woman, clean your ears!"

Syaoran quickly slapped her arm. "S-sorry," he smiled nervously. "She's always like that."

Sakura sighed and quietly said, "We've been dating for about two weeks already."

"You can't be serious!"

"I am."

Before anyone could say another word, Nakuru tugged Sakura's wrist and pulled her away from Syaoran. "I'm sorry—" she forced up a smile, "—but can I borrow my sister for a minute?" 

And she dragged Sakura back to their apartment.

She slammed the door behind her before pushing Sakura into an empty seat. She folded her arms together, and strictly gave the other girl a look that had 'You have some explaining to do' in her eyes.

"I met him when I moved here," Sakura started saying slowly. "Syaoran was looking for a secretary, and Eriol introduced us. I started working for him, and then... this."

Nakuru rubbed her temples. "Tell me, Sakura, when did the fact that you are betrothed slip out of your mind?"

"It never did," was probably the wrong answer to give at that moment.

"It _never_ did?" The older woman repeated, slowly, pacing about in front of the door. "Sakura, are you aware of what you are doing? Otou-san will be very—I'm not even sure if '_surprise_' is going to be the reaction. If Touya finds out, he will personally kill your boyfriend."

"I know..."

"Are you serious about the relationship? I mean..." she paused before continuing. "...if you just want to have _fun_—like a fling—before settling down, then I don't have to repeat this to Otou-san or your brother. That is... if you are thinking of ending this _affair_ with no strings attached."

Nakuru stopped talking to observe the expression on Sakura's face; bewilderment hit her in the face.

"You don't want to end the affair?" It came out as a statement rather than a question.

Sakura sighed shortly. "I don't know _anything_ about my so-called _fianc__é_—I don't want an empty marriage. I had thought that I could go along with the engagement to make Otou-san happy, but I started to think of myself. I know my selfishness will disappoint our family, but I only have one life to live, and possibly one chance to get married. I want to marry someone because I have feelings for him, not because we are arranged for each other."

"And this guy—your boyfriend..."

"I don't know where we will be in the future, but I don't want to let go of what we have right now. We might be broken up by next month, but it doesn't really matter. For once in my life, I'm actually having a relationship, and it feels nice."

"Are you happy?"

"Yes! Didn't you tell me that you wanted time apart from Touya because you feel like you've missed out on a lot of things by rushing into the marriage?" Sakura said. "I don't want to feel regretful in the future."

"And you know what you are doing?"

She nodded. "I will talk to Otou-san soon, and I will introduce Syaoran to him."

"Are you positive about this, Sakura?" The older woman looked at her solemnly. "You will be happy with your decision?"

"If it's the wrong one, I promise I won't whine about it."

Nakuru pulled her into a warm embrace. "You're getting older, Sakura. I believe you can make your own decisions in life."

"Thanks, 'nee-chan..."

"Now, does your boyfriend know about your fiancé?"

Sakura smiled nervously. "What's the definition of 'know' really...?"

"You're kidding me, right—you haven't told him?"

"N-not _yet_ to be technically correct."

"Sakura, how do you sleep at night!?"

"Close my eyes and count sheep." Nakuru gave her a disapproving look. _Dang_. Sakura hated that look. "I will tell him soon."

"How _soon_?"

"It's not easy, you know!" Sakura cried. "I can't just walk up to him and say 'Hey, Syaoran. By the way, I forgot to mention to you that I am betrothed to another man'. Does that sound okay to you? No, it doesn't."

"The sooner the better. Don't wait too long because you're afraid to tell him," said Nakuru. "We should head back over there so I can apologize for my behavior."

Sakura giggled. "I can't believe you fell out of your chair!"

"Oh, shut up. It was your fault, you know."

"Right... blame it on me, why don't you?" Sakura opened the door to walk out. Once she opened the door, two certain people tumbled into the apartment, head first to the floor. "What are you two doing?"

Syaoran jumped to his feet and rub the back of his head sheepishly. "I hate to say 'I told you so,' but I told you so!" He wagged his index finger dramatically at his cousin. "I tried telling you not to eavesdrop on other people, but did you listen to me? NO! I hope you learned your lesson after I _demonstrated_ how wrong and dangerous snooping is." 

"Mmhmm," Nakuru rolled her eyes slowly. "You were just _demonstrating_."

Sakura mentally slapped herself in the face.

_Oh, Kami-sama..._

"I'll go wash the dishes." Meiling quickly said and left.

Nakuru patted Sakura on the shoulder before pushing the girl into the hall. "Kid," she looked at Syaoran, "don't try to _demonstrate_ anything. Remember—I'm always watching you."

And she closed the door.

"I think your sister likes me," Syaoran remarked, letting out the breath he was holding. "_A lot_."

"Who told you to snoop?"

"I wasn't snooping. I was teaching Meiling the consequences of snooping."

Sakura didn't look convinced. "And I thought I come up with the lamest excuses."

Syaoran sighed lightly, slipped his hands into his pockets, and leaned himself against the wall before turning to look at her strangely. Sakura couldn't quite read his expression.

"Sakura, there's something I haven't been telling you..." He started saying, slowly, looking down at the floor. "Remember when you called me up to fix your leak?"

"Y-yeah. What about it?"

"Remember how I hung up on you?"

She nodded. "I assumed that you fell asleep on me or something like that."

"I didn't." He answered. "There's a reason why your name took me by surprise and I just hung up immediately."

"My name?" 

Sakura was truly confused. Where was their conversation heading?

"I haven't told a lot of people about this either," he continued. "And I was waiting for the right time to tell you."

"Syaoran, what are you talking about?" she asked. "You're starting to confuse me a little here."

"Your mother died when you were three, correct?" Sakura nodded, asking herself if she had told him that piece of information. He'd probably heard it from Eriol or something; but then again, she didn't think Eriol knew anything about her mother either. "You probably don't remember this, but we've met before on the day that your mother died."

The look on Sakura's face said it all—speechlessness and shock.

He was dead serious, wasn't he?

It was ages ago when her mother died, and she was only three at that time. You can't expect a three year old to have a good memory. Besides, Sakura hardly remembered anything from her childhood before the age of six.

"How come I don't remember you?" she asked.

"It was eighteen years ago," he answered. "You were three and I was seven. The meeting was kind of brief, but you left an unforgettable impression."

"I'm still confused."

He chuckled. "It's not that important. I just thought I should tell you."

"Why was Meiling surprised that time you introduced us?"

A slow blush suddenly crept up his cheeks. "That's a whole different story that is too embarrassing to tell."

Sakura pouted and clung onto his arm, swinging it from side to side. "I want to hear!"

"I'll tell you some other time," he said, still bearing the blush on his face.

She stuck her tongue out at him playfully. "Then I won't tell you my secret."

He arched one eyebrow. "Do that again." He said with a mischievous grin.

"Do what?"

"The tongue thing."

"This?" Sakura stuck her tongue out again. She cursed herself for being so easily manipulated by him when he suddenly closed the distance between them and slid his tongue against hers. "S-Syaoran, let's not..." she managed to pull away and said, her voice low and dry.

He captured her chin with two fingers, lifting her gaze to meet his for several long moments that held Sakura's breath. He lowered his gaze to her damp lips as he lightly traced his fingers from her chin down her throat to cover her wildly beating pulse. Syaoran lowered his mouth and suckled her bottom lip, nipping it before moving to her throat.

Sakura felt her back hitting against the cold metallic door. Before she could respond, he captured her mouth again, this time kissing her with more passion and hunger than before.

"You were saying something—" he said between the kiss, "—about a secret?"

"Mmhmm." Sakura could barely breathe, let alone talk properly. "I—ahh... Oh _God_, Syaoran..."

"God isn't going to appreciate you using his name like this." He said huskily into her ears and trailed wet kisses down her neck.

Before the two of them could make another move, God decided to punish them for using his name in vain by making Sakura's back support disappear, so that they were falling onto the floor.

"Didn't I tell you not to demonstrate anything?" came Nakuru's voice.

The woman stood in the doorway with her hands on her hips and a dangerous glare at Syaoran. "H-hi, there..." He smiled nervously, sweat drops forming on his forehead. "She had something in her mouth."

Nakuru raised a slender eyebrow in the air. "You mean your tongue?"

"Nee-chan!" Sakura slapped the woman on the leg. "God, you're worse than Touya!"

"Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain," said the other woman. "Remember, kids, the Lord sees _everything_."

Syaoran gave Sakura a peck on the lips before removing himself off her and running back to his apartment. Nakuru stared at Sakura as she closed the door behind them. Before the younger girl could say a single word, Nakuru had already slapped her on the back of the head.

"Hoeee!"

"Next time, either find a discreet place—his apartment, hotel room, elevator, laundry room, whatever—or don't do it at all. My dinner was about to be digested the wrong way."

Sakura sighed.

So much for trying to tell him.

_Next time_, she thought. 

And she'd make sure there won't be any _distractions_.

zZz

_How should I tell him?_

Sakura asked herself over breakfast.

She knew that she had to tell him, but she didn't know how to tell him. She wondered about his reaction. Would he be angry, surprised, or what? And when should she tell him? Before the party that night or after the party? Perhaps, she could wait and tell him the next day. One day wouldn't really make a difference... right?

_Ohh. I hate this!_

"Are you going to talk to him today?" her sister asked.

She nodded. "I figure if I'm going to have to tell him, then might as tell him before our one month anniversary comes. That way neither of us will look into it too much if the whole relationship goes wrong."

"You really like him, don't you?"

Sakura shrugged. "He's... _special_."

"I'm meeting with Touya today," said the older woman, quietly. "We're finalizing our divorce."

"You're really going through with this, Nee-chan?" The woman nodded. "Do you want me to go with you?"

"No, it's okay."

"What are your plans after the divorce?"

"Ah, I don't know. Find a job and live with you, I guess."

Sakura sighed.

_Wonderful_, she thought sarcastically in her mind.

The woman suddenly kicked her in the leg. "Hoee! Nee-chan, what was that for?"

"For sighing."

"Can't I sigh?"

"Not with that tone, missy."

Sakura grumbled to herself and excused herself from the table. "I'm going to talk to Syaoran," she merely said as she walked out the door.

"Good luck!" the other woman called out.

Once in the hall, Sakura paced back and forth in front of Syaoran's apartment while trying to come up with a last minute _revelation_. _What if he's in a bad mood this morning?_ she thought.

Okay, _why_ in the world didn't anyone bother to write a book on how to have an affair? She had seen books and magazine articles such as 'Ten Easy Steps To Hook A Man', 'A Guide To Breaking Up', 'FOOD:The Best Way To Anyone's Heart', and 'Is Someone Checking Out Your Ass Or Did You Forget To Wear Pants?'

If there were articles like _those_, then why weren't there any articles like 'How To Tell Your Boyfriend You're Engaged' or 'Affairs for Beginners'? No wonder all affairs were either caught or exposed. People didn't know _how_ to have a safe affair because there weren't any written guidebook or instructions on how to have one.

"_Tch_. I'm getting no where." She brought her hand up to the doorbell, but quickly retrieved it. "I'm such a coward."

She needed advice from someone older—someone who wouldn't give a rat's ass about her problem. Someone like...

"Yue!" She instantly thought of the man.

He would be able to help her.

He would listen, say something sarcastic, and then forget about it the next day. Yup. Yue was perfect.

Sakura took out her phone and dialed the man's number, waiting for him to pick up, one ring after the next until she heard the answering machine. She tried again. This time, an annoyed grunt greeted her on the other line after the third ring.

"What is it, Sakura?" He said with a touch of impatience.

"How do you it's me?"

He sighed heavily on the other line. "One, caller ID. Two, only you would call this early in the morning."

Sakura chuckled. "S-Sorry. Did I bother you?"

"You're not the _only_ one," he said. "What are you complaining about this time?"

"You know—I don't always complain every time I see you."

"Whatever."

"Can I come talk to you?"

"If it's a complaint, then I'm kicking your ass out." And he hung up. 

_Note to self: Complain about the noisy people upstairs some other time._

zZz

"Yue?" She stepped into the apartment after finding that the door was unlocked. 

She looked in the kitchen and living room, but she didn't see him anywhere. "Just how rude is this guy!" She tut-tutted with her tongue and resumed to searching through the apartment for the so-called landlord.

She stopped in the hallway when she heard water coming from inside the bathroom.

"Yue?" she knocked on the door. The water stopped. "You don't have to come out," she said. "I think it'll be easier if I just talk to you like this. Anyway, I wanted to come and ask your advice on something—it's about my relationship with Syaoran."

She leaned her ear against the door to see if there were any sort of reply coming from the other side, but there wasn't.

_Don't tell me he tuned me out_.

She was going to strangle the man if he tuned her out.

"I'm having this problem with our relationship actually," she continued after a long awkward pause. "You see... I forgot to mention one small detail about me to Syaoran when he asked me out. It's not that I '_forgot_', but more like I let it _slipped_ by on purpose... you know?"

Still no reply on the other side.

Sakura took in a deep breath and continued to talk. "The thing is... I'm betrothed."

A crash was heard on the other side.

"Yes, I know... You think that I am sort of bimbo for agreeing to be his girlfriend when I already have a fiancé." She paused to let out a small sigh. "I don't want to hurt Syaoran. I really like him, I do—I just don't know how to tell him. I mean, this isn't something I can just walk up to his face and say ever-so-lightly... you know? You're older than me, and you've known him for a long time. I was just wondering if you can give me a little advice."

"Who the hell are you talking to?" a voice said wearily out of nowhere.

Sakura was surprised to see the silver-haired man coming out of the room on her right. 

He stretched his arms out and yawned. "Can't a man try to get fifteen hours of sleep nowadays?"

She blinked in confusion. 

If he was sleeping in his room, then who...

She shifted her attention to the left side when she heard the bathroom door opened slowly. Amber eyes gazed at her heatedly, and Sakura just wanted to die.

"S-Syaoran..." her voice was barely audible.

He gripped onto the towel around his neck, his eyes still fixed on her shameful face. "I suppose it is a good thing that I ran out of hot water and had to take a shower here this morning," he growled. "Please let me pass."

He pushed her aside slightly and started to walk away.

Sakura subconsciously grabbed onto his arm to hold him back. "Syaoran, please! Can I just talk to you?"

"What's there to talk about, Sakura?" 

She cringed at the way he had said her name. It was so bitter and... _painful_.

"Can you let me explain?"

"I think you've made yourself pretty clear," he said petulantly. "Li Syaoran doesn't _take_ something that belongs to someone else."

He jerked his arm out of her grasp and walked away, letting the door slammed loudly on his way out. Sakura slumped against the wall and began to slid to the floor, still sorting out what had just happened through her head. Everything just happened so fast. She hadn't meant for him to find out that way.

_Oh, Syaoran..._

"Did I..." Yue had a genuinely surprised look on his face. "...miss something?"

zZz

Sakura had went into his apartment, but he wasn't there. She checked his grandmother's bakery, but he wasn't there either. She called his cell phone many times, but he didn't pick up. Meiling didn't know where he was either.

She was desperate for any news of him.

She even called Eriol to ask. _Eriol_—of _all_ the people in the world!

She really screwed it up big time.

_Big_. Time.

And there she was, standing outside one of Tomoeda's grandest hotels where Eriol's party was hosted; hoping that Syaoran was going to be there. She wasn't exactly sure what she was going to say to him, but she thought that it was going to be somewhere along the line of 'I really, really like you and I'm so, so sorry'.

"Sakura!" a voice called out to her as soon as she stepped through the doors.

"Tomoyo!" she couldn't have been more excited to see the other girl's face. "Is Syaoran here?"

The other girl nodded slowly and pulled onto Sakura's arm before she could get away. "What happened between you two? How come you didn't come together, and why does Syaoran seem a little ticked off? Did you two have a fight?"

"He found out."

"_Found out_? You mean—" 

Sakura nodded. "It wasn't how I plan to tell him either."

"Eriol was introducing Touya to Syaoran!" Her friend cried. "We can't let—"

"Kaijuu!"

Tomoyo let out a sigh. "Too late," she mumbled under her breath.

Sakura smiled nervously as her brother and Eriol walked up to them. Walking alongside them was Syaoran, looking as though he didn't care at all. It kind of hurt to see him look at her blankly—no expression, no nothing. Just looking at her, gazing into her eyes with pure emptiness.

However, it wasn't Syaoran's face that caught her attention. It was the black head walking beside Syaoran.

"Miss Sakura!"

"K-Koji?" Sakura uttered quietly.

"Do you two...know each other?" Eriol looked at them back and forth.

Koji looked at _them_ back and forth. "Eriol and Syaoran, I didn't know you are acquainted with Miss Kinomoto already! You've never mentioned her before—to think that you're friends!"

Syaoran looked away immediately, and Eriol gave a little cough.

"We're not exactly _just_ friends," said the black head. "How do you two know each other?"

"That's...um..." Sakura stammered.

"Sakura is Shun's fiancé," her brother said coolly.

_Shun_.

That was her fiancé?

Eriol started to choke on his own spit, and Syaoran let out a low snort, his gaze on Sakura darkening. Koji looked at the group with a puzzled look as Touya glared daggers at Syaoran for staring at Sakura the whole time. Tomoyo was standing on the side, wiping sweats off her face. Was it her, or was it steaming hot in the room at that moment?

"I t-think I need a drink," said the girl before rushing off.

"Koji and Touya, why don't we join her?" Eriol suggested and dragged the two men off with him; he couldn't believe that he was doing this for _her_. He just shuddered at the thought of doing her a nice favor. Oh, he was definitely going to have nightmares that night—no doubt about that.

Sakura observed Syaoran slowly.

Before it seemed as though he didn't have any expression or whatsoever, but now he did. Only one thing showed on his face—and that was bitter anger.

She stepped forward and tried to reach for his hand, thinking that she still had the rights to. She was, after all, _still_ his girlfriend.

"Syaoran..."

He jerked his hand away and growled. "Don't touch me."

"I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I meant to tell you."

"Would've helped if you told me _before_ anything started."

"I know, and I'm sorry! I wasn't thinking clearly. I was stupid, just so stupid. I had thought that we probably won't last long, and we'll both just go our separate ways after breaking up... that we'll both be able to move on," she continued. "I didn't count on..." She paused and looked at him in the eyes. "I'm sorry..."

He snorted. "Just so fucking wonderful."

"Syaoran, the engagement doesn't mean anything to me!"

"It means _something_ to me, Sakura. It means _a lot_ to me, because I've done something unforgivable." He quietly turned his back to her. "Let's just end it—go our separate ways and move on like you said. It's not too late for us to pretend that this little affair _never_ happened."

"Y-you don't mean that..." Her voice broke slowly. "Do you?"

_How can you say that?_

To pretend that whatever they had was _nothing_. Just. Nothing.

Nothing to him at all.

She watched his back as he walked away, growing more distant from her. She bit back her tears and turned around, walking in the opposite direction.

_I didn't count on falling for you._


	15. Chapter 15

**I'm In Love with a Plumber**

* * *

Rule Number Fifteen:  
_You can't accept the truth  
Until you've accepted the lies._

**oOo**

It was over.

"Kaijuu!" Her brother waved over to her.

Sakura forced up a smile and walked over to the bar, taking a seat between her brother and Koji. Eriol and Tomoyo were sitting together on the other side of him. Eriol whispered something into the other girl's ear before getting up and walking away. Tomoyo quickly looked away when Sakura caught the girl staring at her for a moment.

"K-Koji, why don't I show you where the foods are?" She suddenly said and pulled the baffled man away, not leaving him any room to protest.

_Hm..._

Sakura thought it was weird.

"It seems like Eriol and Tomoyo are quick on their feet," Touya said.

"H-hoe?"

"I wanted them to leave."

"Oh," was all she said. "Why though?"

"I want to talk to you," he answered. "I think you've been waiting to talk to me about the divorce."

"What's going to happen to our family, 'nii-chan?" she asked quietly. "The holidays won't be the same... _nothing_ will."

"I know, kaijuu." He brought a glass of Kamikaze to his lips and finished it in one shot. He asked the bartender for another one and said, "We don't know if this is the right decision, but we both know that we'll just end up hurting each other more if we don't. Marriage isn't simple, kaijuu. Maybe we weren't prepared to start a long time commitment so early."

"You still love each other."

"That, too."

"Technically, you still have a year to figure out where you want to be. You're not _really_ divorced until you appear in court."

He chuckled. "Ironic what the priest said at our wedding. A wedding lasts only for a day, but marriage is a lifetime thing."

"Take it easy on the Kamikazes," she said. "You reek with alcohol! I took a taxi here, so I don't have a car to drive you back—not like I have one anyway, because _someone_ refuses to buy me a car."

"What do you need a car for? Walking is perfectly fine. Besides, you'll be helping to reduce global warming."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Just admit you're cheap, Onii-chan."

"So... how do you know the Li brat?" He suddenly changed the subject, catching Sakura by surprise at the mention of her _ex_-boyfriend.

"I'm his secretary." 

Touya almost fell out of his seat.

Sakura sighed and rolled her eyes, asking for a Kamikaze to make the night go by faster.

_Like wife, like husband._

"You work for the baka!?"

She nodded. "Almost a month now."

"I'm firing my secretary tomorrow, and you're coming to work for me!"

"Nii-chan!" Sakura cried. She couldn't believe the man! "Besides," she added quietly, "I don't think I'll be seeing him again."

Touya merely grunted and ordered himself another drink. "Whatever it is that you're not telling me—" he looked at her knowingly, "—you better tell me now while I'm still sober."

She knew it.

Her brother had this weird sixth sense for detecting these sort of things. She could never lie to him.

"What do I need to know, Sakura?"

_Uh-oh_, she thought. First name. _Run, Sakura. Run, run, run!_

She took in a deep breath and let out, "I had an affair with Syaoran."

"That's nice."

Was that a _smile_ on his face?

_Oh. My. Kami-sama._

Sakura pinched herself to make sure that it wasn't a dream. Her brother was _smiling_ after she'd told him she had an affair. The world was probably coming to an end, or the divorce really knocked his brain out.

She watched as he leaned backward on the stool, little by little, until he fell flat to the floor.

_OR_ ... he was just drunk.

She buried her face in embarrassment when the surrounding guests suddenly looked at them. Eriol and Koji ran over to help her brother up from the floor. And standing not far from them was a pair of amber eyes, gazing intensely at Sakura, but she didn't seem to notice.

"How many drinks did he have before I showed up?" she asked.

Koji smiled nervously. "I lost count."

"Do you need a ride?" Eriol offered.

"Nah. I'll just drive his car home," she smiled.

Tomoyo didn't like the sound of that. "B-but, Sakura! Touya will _kill_ you if anything—and I mean _anything_—happens to his precious car."

"I'll be careful," she insisted. "Just help me get him to the car and I'll do the rest."

"It's _your_ funeral." Eriol muttered under his breath, trying to hide the smile on his face. _Oh_. That was beautiful thought—Sakura damaging Touya's car and Touya killing Sakura for it. It was like hitting two birds with one stone.

One, he didn't have to deal with Sakura anymore; two, his car would become the next beautiful gem around with Touya's car gone.

Ohh, _yes_—his baby was finally going to get the recognition and love that _she_ deserved.

Sakura snorted. "Wipe the smile off your face, Hiiragizawa."

"What smile, Sakura?" He played the innocent card.

_Today is so NOT my day_, she groaned inwardly in her head.

zZz

_So far, so good_.

Sakura felt proud of herself.

She managed to drive her drunk brother and herself home in one piece. Now, if only she could say the same thing about his car. Okay, so maybe she wasn't as good of a driver as she _thought_ she was. No wonder her family refused to get her a car.

So... what if she smashed into their own mailbox?

People ran into mailboxes _all_ the time, not like it was a crime or anything. Mailboxes were _meant_ to be run over anyway. Who in their right mind would put the darn thing so close to the driveway?

_Note to self: Blame it on the contacts._

"Otou-san!" Sakura rang the doorbell. "Otou-san!"

A few seconds passed and her father showed up at the door. "Sakura?"

"Nii-chan got drunk," she answered.

"Here. Let me take him." He took the unconscious man from Sakura. "He reeks!"

"I know." Sakura said as she followed behind closely. "By the way... you might want to look for a Kero the Fourth soon."

Fujitaka gave his daughter a puzzled look. "Why?"

Sakura looked away innocently. "I d-don't know..."

"You ran over our dog, didn't you?"

"I never s-said that."

He dropped Touya on the sofa before turning to look at her with an exasperated look. "Touya ran over Kero the First, Nakuru ran over Kero the Second, and now _you_ ran over Kero the Third."

Sakura smiled sweetly. "He was getting old anyway. Besides, I don't think Kero is a lucky name in our family."

She went to grab a blanket out of the closet and placed it over her brother, smiling lightly as she watched him hugged it to his chest. At some point, Sakura admired her brother. At least he made a decision and had seen things through.

And her...?

"Sakura, is something on your mind?"

"Otou-san, I have something to tell you..."

"What is it, Sakura? Are you having problems living on your own? Is it work?"

"No, no!" she continued. "You better sit down first."

At this unexpected request, Fujitaka sat down in his armchair. "Okay, I'm ready." He said.

Sakura took in a deep breath. "I want to call off the engagement."

His eyes widened and his mouth hung slightly open.

"I'm sorry, Otou-san," she continued. "I don't want to marry someone I hardly know of. I'm sure he's a nice guy if you want me to marry him, but I want to marry someone because I have feelings for them. And I know it was wrong of me to have an affair..."

"You had an affair?"

"I was dating someone," she said earnestly.

"_Was_?"

"It's complicated. I prefer not to get into the details of my affair." She let out an exasperated sigh. "You must be very disappointed in me..."

He chuckled. "Sakura, you're my daughter. I'm disappointed that you've waited to tell me _now_, but I am never disappointed _in_ you."

"What do you mean '_now_'?"

He smiled softly. "Let's just say I have my eyes and ears, sweetie."

"Otou-san, I never knew you had sources."

"Now you do, dear. Now you do," he said. "What about this boy? When can I meet him?"

Sakura didn't quite know how to answer him.

It was hard saying _those_ three words in the same sentence. _We broke up._ It was as though she didn't want to accept it, but she knew it was only foolish to hang on.

If she didn't know any better, Sakura would say that she was hanging onto the hope that maybe everything wasn't as bad as she thought. Maybe she and Syaoran still had a chance... _maybe_.

"Sakura...?"

"I'm sorry, Otou-san. 'Nee-chan is probably at the apartment by herself," she quickly said. "I should really get going. She needs me right now, with the divorce being finalized and all."

_Lies..._

All lies.

It seemed as though that was all Sakura did—running away from her problems.

Yue greeted her at the front desk when she got back to the building, and he invited her into his apartment to watch a movie with him. She thanked him for his offer and said that he didn't have to feel bad for her. He didn't do anything wrong. When Sakura got into the elevator, the silver-haired man looked like he wanted to open his mouth to say something, but chose to close it and wished her well.

Sakura didn't quite understand his behavior at all.

It was like he wanted to hold her back; to prevent her from doing something.

The elevator reached the ninth floor and the doors slid open.

_Or maybe he was preventing me from _seeing _something,_ she thought in her mind. Standing in front of Syaoran's apartment was the brown haired man and another woman. Sakura told herself to breathe and act calm; act like it was nothing to her. After all, he _did_ say to pretend that it was nothing between them. So why should she care?

She didn't.

_I don't care at all_.

She walked quietly to her apartment's door, trying not to pay any more attention to the couple. The woman seemed to be struggling with the door. Sakura glimpsed at them for a brief second, realizing that Syaoran was drunk—_dead_ drunk. He looked worse than her brother.

"Stupid, Syaoran!" grunted the black head. "Does it kill you to lose some weight!?"

_They must be close..._ Sakura concluded. The woman called him 'Syaoran' and not 'Li-san', which meant she wasn't one of his fan girls or flings; whichever one sounded better.

She opened the door to her apartment and walked in, closing the door behind her as she leaned herself against the metallic surface.

Nakuru looked up from the couch. "Sakura, why are you back so early? How was the party?"

Sakura smiled through her tears.

"It might take awhile," she said. "But I think I will be okay..."

zZz

"Breakfast is getting cold—get up!" Nakuru screamed from the living room.

Sakura threw the blanket off and sighed, ruffling her hair in frustration.

_Note to self: Put a snooze button on Nakuru._

"SAKURA!"

"Okay, okay!!" She finally gave in and dragged herself to the bathroom.

As much as she hated to admit it, she probably couldn't have pulled through her first relationship's crisis if it hadn't been for the older woman, who was always there to help her up when she'd felt like falling down. Sakura had thought that even if she and Syaoran broke up with each other, she would be fine. That she could move on.

But it was harder than she'd thought.

Three weeks...

Three weeks had passed since she had seen him with another woman a few hours after he broke up with her. If you ask Sakura, she wouldn't say that it was a mutual break up because she still held onto what they had together. She had thought that it was a fling, that it was just her first relationship, that it was nothing; but it _was_ something. Something important in her life, something wonderful, something _unforgettable_.

Sakura had asked Nakuru to give him her resignation letter, and he placed the last pay check in her mailbox. They hardly spoke to each other, even when they would pass each other in the building or get into the elevator at the same time, or even when Tomoyo _convinced_ Eriol to play along with her as they tried to trick the ex-couple into getting together. Neither greeted the other person when they saw each other. It was like the other person didn't exist in the other person's eyes.

She felt hurt at first; hurt that he was able to treat her like that. 

She had seen him and the same black haired woman a couple of times; they were either leaving or going into his apartment together. Sakura didn't know what to think. She even started to ask herself if she had meant anything to him if he was able to replace her so quickly. If his loving words and caress were just a suitcase with a false bottom.

But it was okay...

She wasn't going to brood over the past. She was going to try to move on.

She wouldn't deny that she still had feelings for Syaoran—strong feelings, too—but she couldn't help it. She couldn't just get _rid_ of the feelings easily like that. It took time, and she was going to give herself as much time as she needed.

It didn't take a lot for her to fall for the guy; but it was going to take her awhile to put the memories of them together away in a place deep inside of her where her heart would finally feel at ease.

"Sakura!"

She groaned inwardly. "In a minute, 'Nee-chan!"

_I seriously need to find her a boyfriend._

zZz

"About time," the woman said when Sakura came into the room.

"What's the rush anyway?" she asked.

"Don't tell me you forgot that we're moving back home today." She _did_ forget.

Unfortunately for Sakura, Nakuru had been hanging out with Yue a tad _too_ much in the lobby, and the woman picked up this crazy idea about _feng shui_. She thought that their apartment seemed a little _depressing_, so she came up with the idea of redecorating the whole place from floor to ceiling and corner to corner. It was just unbelievable.

Her father was more than ecstatic to hear that his daughters were coming to home to stay for a while until the construction was done.

_Ironic_.

It kind of reminded Sakura of when Syaoran first moved in with her. She couldn't help but crack a small smile, remembering the experience. She even remembered the ridiculous note he'd left her:

_Letters start with ABC  
Numbers start with 123  
Music starts with Do Re Mi  
Love starts with You and Me._

_Ridiculous_, she thought. _But it was just like him..._

To do something so ridiculous, and make it look so _sweet_.

"Let me guess—" Sakura snapped out of her thoughts. "Because you forgot, you haven't packed yet."

She giggled. "Are you psychic, 'Nee-chan?"

"Sakura, you're easy to read like an open book." 

That was what everybody said to her. She was getting tired of hearing that _all_ the time.

"Can you pack your things and go home later on your own?" Nakuru asked. "Knowing our father, he's probably making some 'big' meal to welcome us home, and I want to give him a hand."

"Is that why breakfast is so yucky this morning?" She was referring to the cold bowl of oatmeal on the table.

"That's why you wake up when I tell you to," the other woman snorted lightly. "I'll see you at home, okay?"

Sakura nodded.

She looked around the apartment quietly after her sister left. She guessed that it was a good idea to redecorate the place. Everything in it reminded her of _him_ and the days that they lived together. Even though it was only for a short period of time, it was one of the most memorable experiences in her life—if not _the_ most memorable.

_It's time to make new memories... I suppose._

zZz

Sakura walked to the main desk in the lobby and set her luggage down on the floor. 

"Hey, Yue!" he greeted the man. He looked up at her from the TV Guide magazine he was reading, obviously annoyed by the interruption. "Aren't you going to say goodbye to me?" She teased him playfully. "You won't see me for a month or two, won't you miss me?"

He scoffed. "A month or so with you and your sister complaining in my ears? How will I ever live!"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Can you be any _sadder_?"

"Hn," was all he said before going back to reading his magazine.

"Sakura?"

She turned her head around to see who was calling for her. Standing at the entrance was Meiling along with Syaoran and the woman she had seen earlier.

"Are you going on a trip or something?" Meiling asked.

Sakura noticed that the women were locking arms with each other, showing how close they were. "Er... I guess you can call it a trip," she answered slowly. "A very long trip."

She caught Syaoran staring at her luggage, but he quickly looked away when their eyes met. She didn't quite know what that had meant, but she chose to ignore it. It probably didn't mean anything. He was probably being curious. After all, they _were_ neighbors.

"Well, I have to get going." She said with a small smile and picked up her luggage. "See you later."

She started walking, and her shoulder briefly touched his as she passed by.

That was _it_.

Sakura stood on the sidewalk with her luggage beside her as she waited for a taxi, thinking of their brief meeting a minute ago. She couldn't get the image of Syaoran and that woman out of her head. It was just _there_.

She let out a small gasp when someone suddenly tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around to find herself looking at a familiar face.

"Hey..." he said.


	16. Chapter 16

**I'm In Love with a Plumber**

* * *

Rule Number Sixteen:  
_You can't really explain _why _you like somebody,  
You just like them because you do._

**oOo**

"Hey..." he said.

She was surprised to see him. "Taguchi-san?"

He kindly smiled at her.

zZz

Sakura stared at the cup of coffee sitting in front of her, asking herself what she was doing. She was having coffee with her ex-boyfriend's friend. What would that look like if someone saw them together? Kind of awkward...

"Were you looking for Syaoran?" She decided to break the silence. "He walked in when I was walking out."

The black head continued to smile. "Yes, I saw him while I was waiting outside for you."

"What?"

"I want to apologize to you in person, Sakura," he started saying. "I should've came to talk to you earlier, but I lost myself in work."

Sakura couldn't believe it.

He wasn't saying what she thought he was saying, right?

"Your father informed my mother about the engagement."

"Y-you're Shun?!"

"Eriol and Syaoran call me by my family name," he answered. "Taguchi Shun, ex-fiancé."

Suddenly, Sakura felt embarrassed sitting before the man—and it was for many reasons, too. One, she cheated on him and he caught her red-handed. Two, he chose _work_ over her. Even though she had no feelings for the man; but being a woman, she didn't want to hear _any_ man (especially her ex-fiancé) say that he put her off for work. Telling that to a woman was like saying to her face that she was fat.

_No wonder Eriol said he loves work more than himself._

"B-but that time when you came to see Syaoran," she said; confused. "Why didn't you...? I mean... you obviously knew that I was cheating on you."

He chuckled. "I wouldn't call it cheating when you and I have no intimate feelings for each other, not to mention that we hardly know each other. I don't know if we should call it coincidences or fate. When we met in person, I realized how wrong my informations were."

"Informations?"

"The things my mother tells me about you to get me interested. To tell you honestly, Sakura, I've been against this engagement since the beginning. It's not you. It's just that I don't feel the need to settle down," he said. "I suppose Eriol and Syaoran told you that I'm a workaholic?"

She nodded. "They're addicted to work also."

"I have the worst case of addiction." Sakura didn't quite understand where their conversation was going. One moment, they were talking about the engagement, and the next... "That's why I was quite happy to see you and Syaoran together."

"W-what?"

"My mother wouldn't let _me_ call off the engagement," he explained. "I'm quite the mama's boy. So my only hope was for _your_ side of the family to call off the engagement. That's why I keep postponing our meeting date, to try to annoy you and all. When I found out that you were Syaoran's girlfriend, I thought it was great. Seeing how close you two were, I knew you'd call off the engagement."

"Being a little selfish to let me do the dirty work, ne?" Sakura teased the man.

He smiled nervously. "I was preparing to talk to you about our engagement, but..."

"Work?"

"A new project," he answered. "I was going to talk to you the day after Eriol's party, but I found out from him the next morning that it was too late."

"It's okay," she said calmly. "What's done been done."

"It doesn't have to be like this. You know it doesn't."

"There isn't much to hold on anymore. He found himself a new girlfriend and he's moving on just fine. I just want to do the same thing as well."

"New _girlfriend_?"

"I see them together a lot, and they look pretty close to each other. The woman was locking arms with Meiling this morning."

He suddenly laughed. "Michiru?"

"You k-know her?"

"My little sister," he explained. "Eriol's new secretary. Don't worry. She won't dump the boyfriend she has been dating since junior high for Syaoran."

Sakura blushed. "I-I'm not worry. It's not my business if he's seeing anybody. I d-don't care."

"There's also another reason why I was against the engagement," he continued. "You see, Sakura... Syaoran has liked you before I even found out that we were betrothed. I met Syaoran in junior high and we were good friends. I would tease Syaoran every time a girl asked him to be her boyfriend, and he told me that he already had someone in mind as his first girlfriend. It took me about a year but I finally got a name out of him, with my sister and Meiling's help."

"The person is me?"

He nodded with a smile. "He said the story went back to when he was seven. He'd met you at the hospital and he has liked you ever since. Eriol and Koji doesn't know about this."

_'But you're special and just who I want to be for my first girlfriend_,' she remembered what he had said to her once.

"I didn't find out about the betrothal until I graduated high school," he said. "I didn't tell the guys. Koji didn't know until he started working for me a few years ago. I made him swore not to tell the others. After Syaoran graduated college, he moved back to Japan partly to look for you, not knowing what you even look like after eighteen years or where you live."

Sakura couldn't help but smile and said, "Doesn't he know that it is almost impossible?"

"But he found you, didn't he?"

"Luck."

Taguchi gave her knowing smile. "Or something _else_..."

She knew what he meant.

Sakura finally saw where this conversation was going.

"I talked to Syaoran." He finally got to the point. "He's not doing as well as you think he is. He feels like he has done me wrong, but I told him what I just basically told you. I also told him that you called the engagement off, and you know what? If I know better, I say he seemed a little happy. Sakura, something you should always remember about men is that we're not as comfortable with expressing themselves. While I was talking to him, I could tell that he was struggling with himself."

"He's the one that's giving me the cold shoulder."

"He _wants_ to talk to you, but he doesn't know how to anymore. Syaoran is like a kid, Sakura. When little kids are scared, they avoid the thing that's scaring them. He's afraid of losing you. He seems to think that if he can avoid you, then he doesn't have to feel scared."

"I-Is that what he said?" Sakura asked.

Taguchi nodded. "He still likes you, Sakura... _a lot_. I can tell by the look in his eyes every time your name is mentioned in front of him."

"Why doesn't he just come to me?" She was getting frustrated just thinking about it. Why didn't he? Didn't he know that she liked him... _a lot_?! Didn't he...?

That was the question.

_Didn't_ he?

"Something gave him the idea that...erm..." the other man paused and wondered how he should say it.

_Oh, God..._

_'I had thought that we probably won't last long..._'

Her and her _stupid_ mouth.

Just. So. _STUPID_.

"Thank you for talking to me today, Taguchi-san." Sakura smiled sweetly at the man. "You really opened my eyes. Thank you for your help."

"I knew you'd understand, Sakura," he sounded quite content. "I'll drive you back to your house."

zZz

Her family was surprised when Sakura came home with Taguchi, who was supposedly her ex-fiancé. They thought that she had changed her mind about the engagement or something; Touya seemed slightly disappointed when Sakura told him that the engagement was still off. So Touya liked Taguchi, eh?

Fujitaka invited Taguchi to stay for lunch, but the black head declined saying that he had a lot of work waiting for him at the office. They all knew that it was just a lie. The man just wanted to go back to work as soon as possible because work was his addiction. Work was like nicotine to him.

"So, Touya... what makes you like Taguchi so much? I saw that look in your eyes."

The man snorted. "He loves work."

"So?"

Nakuru giggled. "What your brother meant is that Shun loves work more than anything. He can live without food or oxygen, but he'll die without work. If you marry him then Touya won't have to worry about him _touching_ you."

"...'cause he'll be too addicted to work...?"

"Exactly."

Sakura grabbed a chopstick off the table and started hitting her brother with it. "Do you want me to die alone or something?!"

He grumbled and folded his arms together. "Yes," he said.

"Oooh!" She screamed at the top of her lungs.

But deep inside, she was happy.

_Nothing changed_, she thought. Touya and her were fighting like usual while Nakuru and her father watched from the side. They felt like a family again...

"By the way, kaijuu..." His tone changed all of sudden, and Sakura knew she was in some deep shit. Touya caught her in a headlock before she could escape. "How _dare_ you!?!"

"I'm sorry, 'Nii-chan!" she cried. "I didn't mean to hurt Porsche!"

He growled. "Her name is Mercedes! She's a Mercedes-Benz. Don't you dare compare her to Eriol's shabby thing."

Nakuru rolled her eyes. "You named the car?"

Fujitaka smiled apologetically at Sakura. "He said he would do the laundry and dishes for three months if I told him who injured Mercedes."

Traded in by her own father.

If she couldn't trust her own flesh and blood, then who could she trust?

"I'll give you the bill after I get Mercedes fixed up."

"W-wait... you _named_ the car?!" Nakuru asked again.

"It's perfectly normal to name your car." He defended himself and loosened his hold on Sakura.

"When I get a car, I'm going to name him Lexus or Nissan," said Sakura.

Fujitaka smiled. "We don't have to worry about naming your car _yet_, dear."

"That means you're never getting a car," Touya smirked.

"Otou-saaan!"

"Maybe when you're a responsible driver, Sakura."

Sakura pouted.

She was _so_ a responsible driver. She replaced their mailbox, didn't she? Usually, people just hit and run; but she was _responsible_ enough to replace the darn thing. Yup. She was responsible alright.

"I am responsible!"

"You ran over our dog." Touya just _had_ to bring that up, didn't he?

"Okay, let's just sit down and have a nice quiet lunch." Their father decided to break up the argument. "Sakura, you can borrow Mercedes from Touya whenever you need a car."

Hey... Sakura wasn't complaining.

"..._when_ you ask him nicely and he agrees to loan you the car."

Okay, _now_ she was complaining.

If that was the condition, then Touya was never going to loan her the car. _Hmph._

Life sucked.

zZz

"Hey, Otou-san..." Sakura went into her father's study room after lunch.

"Do you need something, dear?"

She nodded. "I just want to ask you something."

He closed the book he was reading and gestured to be seat across from him. "Ask away."

"W-what can you tell me about the day that Okaa-san passed away?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like... did I meet anybody? What happened to me specifically...?"

"Why do you ask, honey?"

"I'm just curious."

He propped his chin on his hand. "Your mother was hospitalized for almost a week and I would take you to the hospital every day. You would run around the hospital and play, visiting some of the patients. By the fifth day there, everyone in the hospital already knew your face." He paused to laugh. Sakura hoped this wasn't bringing her father sad memories.

She just wanted to remember what happened when she and Syaoran met.

"If I remember correctly, that morning you and I were coming into the hospital to visit your mother. You ran off to greet a new patient while I was signing in at the visitor desk, a little boy I believe it was. He was older than you."

"Can you describe him?"

"I don't think I remember after eighteen years."

"What did I say to him?"

Her father laughed. "Everything and anything that popped into your head. You were quite a little chatterbox. I had to pull you away from him when you suddenly kissed him."

Sakura jumped out of her seat. "I _what_!?"

"You kissed him."

She touched her lips softly.

"Are you sure it's nothing, Sakura?"

She nodded. "I'll let you read in peace."

"Where is Touya and Nakuru?"

"Onii-chan went to work and 'nee-chan is watching a movie downstairs."

"Ah."

Sakura walked back to her room, her father's words still playing in her head. She _kissed_ him. Three year old Kinomoto Sakura _kissed_ seven year old Li Syaoran. _Kami-sama_, it was unbelievable.

She plopped herself on the bed and hugged the pillow to her chest.

_Her father was taking her to visit her mother like usual. Her father paused to talk to some lady at the big desk, and Sakura decided to wander off. Everyone in the hospital knew her face so if she should get lost, people could always bring her back to her parents._

_She had just took three or four steps when she noticed a little boy sitting in the lounge. He seemed a little sad to Sakura._

_"Hi!" she went up to him and said._

_He looked at her for a second before turning his head away._

_"Why is your eye black?" she asked curiously._

_He grunted. "Go away," he muttered._

_"Why?"_

_"I don't talk to girls."_

_"Why?"_

_"Just go away, little girl."_

_"I'm not wittle! I'm twee!" She held up her left hand. Apparently, she hadn't learned how to count yet._

_The boy put down two of her fingers. "This is three, stupid."_

_"Xiao Lang, did you meet a new friend?" a woman with long black hair came up to them and sat down beside the boy. "What's your name, sweetie?"_

_"Kinomoto Sakura."_

_"She's not my friend," he snorted. "I don't make friends with little kids."_

_She blew a raspberry at him. "You're wittle, too!"_

_"I'm bigger than you!" he exclaimed in irritation. He put a hand over his jaw in pain._

_"I hope you've learned your lesson about picking fights," his mother scolded._

_He averted his eyes from her and stared at the floor in silence. He looked up again when Sakura tapped him on the shoulder._

_"Do you have a boo-boo?" she asked._

_He scoffed._

_But before he could answer, she already smacked her lips over his jaw, giving him the wettest and sloppiest kiss a three-year-old girl could give. He let out a little gasp and stared at her with open eyes; even his mother was speechless._

_"Okaa-san always kiss my boo-boo," she smiled._

_"I am so sorry!" her father ran over to where they were._

_"Otou-san, I made his boo-boo better!"_

_Fujitaka smiled nervously at the mother and son. "I am very sorry about this! Sakura, sweetie... we need to have a little talk about kissing other people's boo-boos."_

Sakura couldn't help but smile, remembering the stupid thing that she did. She couldn't believe she'd done that. What was even more unbelievable was the fact that Syaoran hadn't forgotten her at all.

And then she remembered something.

'_Will you kiss my boo-boo if I say it did?_' he had said once, not too long ago when he was hit and she'd asked him if it hurt.

He had liked her _all_ these years.

_It's decided_, she thought. If he was afraid to come to her, then she would have to do something about it.

Throughout history, men and women were part of a cycle where the women were the ones being wooed and the men were doing the wooing. However, Sakura realized that in order for her to _earn_ Syaoran back, she'd have to break that cycle. Therefore...

The wooer was now the _wooee_.


	17. Chapter 17

**I'm In Love with a Plumber**

* * *

Rule Number Seventeen:  
_Whoever thinks that it's improper for girls to woo guys  
Has never met Kinomoto Sakura._

**oOo**

Mission: Catch 'Moby Dick'.

Target: 'Moby Dick' aka Li Syaoran.

_Step One-Bait._

"You're going to _what_?!" Eriol spit his morning coffee all over his desk. "You can't be serious!"

Sakura nodded as she sat across from him. She came to his office first thing in the morning to deliver the shocking news: that she, Kinomoto Sakura, was going to woo Li Syaoran. Despite how awful it was to see the man's dreadful face that early in the morning, Sakura knew that Eriol was the man capable of helping her. Because Sakura knew nothing of wooing, she needed some pointers from someone that was experienced and knew Syaoran well. She could've went to Taguchi. He knew Syaoran very well, but she doubted he knew anything about wooing. She didn't know how well Koji knew Syaoran, so she'd thought she would just save the time and find Eriol himself, despite how much she didn't want to.

"I'm very much serious," she answered. "Now... are you going to help me or not?"

"What if I refuse?" He smirked. "After all, you did lie to him."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "You know you only want to torture me, Eriol, so leave the 'good friend' crap out."

"True. True."

"If you don't help me then..." she paused and gave him the once over look.

"Then...?"

"I will do something very _awful_ to you."

"Like what?"

Sakura crossed her arms together and said, "I'll _hug_ you."

The other man shuddered. "What do you need to know?"

"Taguchi talked to me yesterday," she began slowly. "He said that Syaoran feels insecure... that he's avoiding me because he's afraid of losing me. I don't want him to avoid me. I want to approach him, but I don't want to scare him off either. I'm not sure which is the best way to approach him."

Eriol simply looked at her and coolly said, "He just needs to be assured, Sakura. It doesn't matter how you approach him, just get him to sit down, talk to him, and assure him of how you feel. It's simple like that. And as of Syaoran wooing other girls, he never had to. Girls just threw themselves at him, but I believe he wooed you."

Sakura smiled. "So... how do you woo somebody?"

"I honestly do not know how you woo a man," he said. "Why don't you ask Koji?"

Sakura started sputtering. "He's g-g..._gay_?!"

"Why do you think he's a _male_ secretary?" the man laughed at the expression on her face. "I've always wanted to say that."

"H-hoe?"

"Been waiting years for a chance to say that." He took in a deep breath and calmly said, "No, he isn't gay."

Sakura threw a pen at the man. "Then why did you make that statement in the first place!"

"You were the one that assumed he's gay!"

She grabbed a stapler off the desk and threw it at him before walking off. She slammed the door behind her. She couldn't believe that she had just wasted twenty something minutes on _that_ man.

Sakura groaned.

zZz

"Koji, how do you woo a guy?" She bent over the guy's desk and looked at him in the eyes.

The black head smiled nervously as sweat drops formed down the side of his head. "Sakura, it's not a good time right now. I'm suppose to find this file for Shun. If I don't find it soon, he'll get all worked up and _then_ I will have to deal with a pissy Shun when we get home."

"W-wait, you two _live_ together?"

_Oh my God... they're both...?_

"I'm dating his sister," he explained. "The three of us share the same house."

_Ohhh. That explains it._

"Can't you multi-task and search at the same time?" she pouted. "I really need the tips."

"Why?"

"I want to woo Syaoran," she stated simply.

The black head dropped whatever it was he was doing to stare at her. "You _what_?"

Why did everyone react like that when she told them? It wasn't that surprising. Was it so strange that a girl wanted to woo a guy? What was wrong with going against the cycle? There wasn't a written rule that said someone had to go with what society view as "correct". Hell, if there _was_ a rule like that then whoever created such a rule should know that rules were meant to be broken.

"Will you help me?"

"Okay. If you want Syaoran back,"—he took a notepad from his desk and started jotting things down—"then follow these five tips. One, the clothes. You want to wear something appealing to his eyes and catch his attention, but you don't want to _reveal_ yourself. Two, body contact. I don't think I need to explain that. Three, listen but don't solve. Ask him on a date or something, sit down and have a nice chat, ask him about his problems; but don't try to solve it for him, you want to let him know that you're there for him."

Wow.

Who knew the male secretary knew so much about wooing guys?

_Hm_, Sakura thought. _Wonder how he became so experienced._

"Four, silence is golden. As nice as a conversation sound, if you feel like you have to force a conversation then my suggestion is to just welcome the silence. Sometimes, men find the silence to be rather cozy. Awkward conversations can just ruin the whole night and leave somewhat of a bad impression, so avoid those." He continued to talk as his hands moved quickly across the notepad. Sakura was impressed by his speed. "And finally... girls love compliments, but so do men. Compliment him. Show him verbally that you are very much interested in him. Syaoran is a really insecure bastard, so just boost up his confidence and everything will be good. Men aren't all that different from women. There are a few differences, but we are similar in many ways as well."

"Do I really have to compliment him?" Sakura asked. "I mean... I'm sure by now every woman has told him that he is the walking epitome of a sex God."

He raised an eyebrow in the air. "He's not _that_ desirable," he said. "Well, good luck on wooing him back."

Sakura smiled. "Thanks for the tips, Koji. How do you know so much about wooing guys though?"

"I took a course back when I was still in junior high." He gave an embarrassed cough and mumbled quietly under his breath.

"You _what_?"

"I was pursuing Michiru, so I took this course on how to woo a girl but the class was kind of expensive," he answered slowly. "And at that time, there was a promotional discount for the bisexual class—how to woo girls _and_ guys..."

Sakura laughed. "So you pretended to be bisexual to get the discount?"

"I was a pre-teen. Give me a break!"

"Koji, I need that file _NOW_!!!" They heard Taguchi screamed from inside his office.

The black sighed exasperatedly. "Wonderful. He's pissy."

Sakura smiled apologetically and left him alone after thanking him for his help.

zZz

She went back home to find Nakuru sitting in front of the television, in the same exact spot the woman was sitting when Sakura left the house that morning. Did she even move one bit?

"Nee-chan, how do you make a leak?" she asked.

The brunette looked at her strangely. "Just take a hammer and wham anywhere," she said. "Why?"

"Oh... no reason. Where can you usually find a hammer?"

"In the garage."

"Okay, you can go back to watching your soap," Sakura said and headed out towards the garage.

She found the hammer by Touya's toolbox and she walked back into the house. She walked past Nakuru in the living room, but the woman didn't notice the hammer in Sakura's hand. Sakura tightened her grip on the hammer as she stood in front of the kitchen sink, wondering where she should wham the thing. Maybe the faucet.

She opened the cabinet under the sink and observed the pipe. "He might just try the stupid duct tape thing again..."

Her goal was to keep him as long as possible. And so, with that decided...

Sakura raised the hammer in the air and smashed it against the faucet, breaking the poor thing as water spouted everywhere. She hid the hammer inside a drawer and called out, "Nee-chan, the faucet is broken... I think we need to call a plumber!"

Nakuru ran into the kitchen, surprised to find water shooting everywhere. "W-what happened?!"

Sakura shrugged her shoulders innocently. "I'll go look up a plumber in the phone book."

"Who knows how long that'll take. Water is diamond!" the woman started panicking. "Syaoran is a plumber!"

Sakura smiled satisfyingly when Nakuru ran for the phone.

_I am good._

She should really consider taking a career in acting.

While Nakuru was calling Syaoran, Sakura wandered upstairs to her room to look for an outfit for wear. She kept in mind what Koji said about attracting his eyes, but not revealing herself. She settled with a pink mesh tank top and jeans.

She practically ran downstairs when she heard the doorbell ring, almost running Nakuru over at the door. The woman gave her a weird stare and opened the door. Sakura quickly straightened herself, only to be disappointed when she saw that the person wasn't who she was waiting for.

"Yukito, what are you doing here?" Nakuru asked.

The man smiled sweetly and set the little dog in his arms onto the floor. "Kero the Fourth," he answered. The three watched the little thing ran around the house. "Let's see if we can break the death record."

"Maybe we should stop naming the dog Kero," said Sakura.

Nakuru opened the door wider to let the other man in. "Come in. We're having a little crisis right now."

"Oh?"

"I don't suppose you know how to fix a faucet, do you?"

"Yeah... didn't need to learn that to become a vet," he smiled. "Did you call a plumber yet?"

"Twenty something minutes ago." Nakuru answered, leading the way into the living room.

Yukito sat down in the armchair and smiled sweetly at Sakura. "Touya told me you moved out," he said.

She nodded. "Currently remodeling the apartment."

"Ah, I see."

"How are Kaho and the kids?" Nakuru asked.

"Good. Just the other day..."

Sakura started to tune out the conversation between Nakuru and Yukito. The only sound that was going through her mind was the ticking of the clock as she watched the hands of the clock moved. She started to give herself reasons as to why Syaoran could've been late. He'd never been late before during the time that she was working for him. He'd always showed up twenty minutes or less after the person called. So what was taking him so long? It was twenty-two minutes already. Twenty-two minutes and three seconds... four seconds... five seconds... six seconds... seve—

She jumped up excitedly when the doorbell rung.

"What the hell took you so lon—" She paused when she saw her father's bewildered look. "Otou-san, why are you ringing the doorbell?"

"Forgot my keys," he replied and stepped into the house. "Were you waiting for someone?"

Sakura nodded in embarrassment. "Kinda..."

"A plumber?"

She nodded again. "Y-yeah... how do you know?"

He pushed the door open wider to reveal a certain brown haired man standing on the porch with his toolbox. Okay, _now_ she was really embarrassed.

"I'm here to fix the faucet," Syaoran said.

Sakura felt some uneasiness in his voice and smiled lightly. "It's in the kitchen," she answered..

He looked at her.

She looked at him.

He stood there.

She stood there

He continued to stand there on the porch, and she continued to stand in the doorway.

Neither moved until Fujitaka chuckled and said, "I don't think he knows where the kitchen is, dear."

"O-Oh... Oh, right!"

Yup. Sakura was _definitely_ embarrassed.

"Why don't I show you,"—Fujitaka turned to look at Syaoran—"I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name."

"Li Syaoran," the man answered politely.

Fujitaka smiled knowingly. "Ah, I see. Follow me. Sweetie, move aside so Li-kun can enter."

"S-sorry..."

Sakura moved out of the way so the other man could enter. She swore she saw a smile on his face when he walked by. If that was the case, then maybe her mission would be successful after all.

"How did this happen!?!" Her father cried out loudly when he stepped into the kitchen.

Sakura smiled nervously. "Does it really matter what happened? The important thing is to get it fixed right?"

Nakuru and Yukito ran into the room when they heard the scream. Syaoran nodded politely to the two and quickly looked away when Nakuru gazed intently at him. A smile came onto her face as she said, "Took you long enough."

"Traffic." Syaoran merely grunted before getting to work.

"Sakura, Yukito wants to take you out for a drink or two," the woman suddenly said.

"I do?" (Yukito)

"He does?" (Sakura)

They asked at the same time.

Nakuru suddenly pushed Yukito towards Sakura. "Yes. Yukito, you were telling me in the living room how you don't get to spend time with Sakura and how you miss her because of your schedule!"

"Well... It's true I haven't seen Sakura-chan in a while," said the man. "But—"

"And you _love_ Sakura-chan a lot don't you?"

"Well, _yeah_..." Yukito blinked; obviously confused by the whole situation. He thought he was talking to Nakuru about Kaho in the living room. When did they ever talk about Sakura...?

The three stopped talking and turned to Syaoran when he suddenly dropped a wrench onto the floor. He smiled nervously and quickly picked the thing up. "S-sorry..."

Nakuru's smile grew wider.

"Hoee... 'nee-chan?" Sakura saw a wink from her sister and immediately understood the other woman's intentions.

"Otou-san, I saw a documentary earlier this morning." Nakuru started dragging their father out of the room. "I have a few questions to ask."

Sakura smiled and locked her arms around Yukito's. "Let's go on that date, shall we?"

"D-_Date_!?"

She quickly led the man to the door. "Sorry about that, Yukito-san." She whispered softly to him when they were standing on the porch. "Thanks for playing along. Tell Kaho-san and the kids I say hello."

And she closed the door to his face, leaving a very confused veterinarian on their porch to scratch his head.

Sakura headed back into the kitchen, tiptoeing on her feet so that Syaoran wouldn't hear her. She leaned in the doorway and watched him quietly with her arms crossed in front of her chest. After observing him for about five minutes, Sakura was satisfied with the conclusion of the experiment.

"You're jealous." She spoke aloud, startling him a little.

He picked up the stupid wrench for the second time and turned to look at her. "Pardon?"

She smiled. "You thought I was really going on a date with Yukito," she said again. "You were jealous—no, you _are_ jealous."

He snorted and turned around to work on the faucet. "You can't be more wrong, Miss Kinomoto."

"Oh? Why did you stare into space for like five minutes?" she continued to interrogate him. Sakura was determined; she wasn't going to let him get away. Not again. "And your reaction when Nakuru led Yukito-san into saying that he loves me... can you explain that, Li-san?"

"Butterfingers," he said. "And I was just thinking about the faucet."

Sakura sighed exasperatedly. Walking over to him, she spun him around and quickly pushed him against the refrigerator as she positioned herself in front of him, firmly pressing her body against his. Their eyes met, and, for a second, she started trembling with the nearness of the temptation. She could tell that he was feeling the same thing as her.

"Syaoran, you're really stubborn..." She said, softly, brushing some of the messy bangs out his face so she could have a clearer view of his façade. Her pale fingers traced his lips, which trembled beneath the warmth of her touch. "Do you feel hurt, Syaoran? ... do you feel pain...?"

He averted his eyes from her as he quietly uttered, "What is it to you?"

Sakura was taken aback by the comment. He sounded like... like he didn't think she cared.

_You're wrong, Li Syaoran... I do care._

Leaning forward, she gently brushed her lips over his. He looked down at her. A faint smile curved her lips and she reached out, carefully, brushing back a lock of hair that lay against his forehead. She cupped his jaw in her palm, and her thumb touched the corner of his mouth.

"Syaoran, please don't think that I don't care..." she quietly said and rested her head against his shoulder. "I don't want us to be like this. I know that this was all my fault, but can you... find it in you to give me a second chance? Let me prove to you that I care, that what we had wasn't just a meaningless fling."

Sakura felt her knees trembling when he suddenly slid his arms around her waist.

He held her tightly and whispered something in her ear. "Don't you find this position a _tad_ familiar?"

Sakura giggled.

He let go of her and started gathering his things together. "I'll mail the bill in a week or so."

Sakura stared at the faucet, speechless.

_Kami-sama..._

Well, at least he didn't use duct tape.

"The thing just came off so I just hot-glued it back," he chuckled.

_Oh. My. God._

He got his things together and left. Sakura just stared at the faucet, afraid to even touch it.

_Note to self: _NEVER _hire him again._

So another day, another job well done for Li Syaoran.

"_I'm going to kill that kid_!!!" was Nakuru's reaction.

Sakura sighed. At least she made some progess that day, even if it just caused her a broken faucet and a lousy, _very_ lousy plumbing service.

Step one, check.


	18. Chapter 18

**I'm In Love with a Plumber**

* * *

Rule Number Eighteen:  
_Good things come to those who bait.  
Nothing makes a fish bigger than almost being caught._

**oOo**

_Step Two-Reel in Moby Dick._

"_Please_, Onii-chaaaaaaaan!" Sakura threw herself on her knees, and tightly clung onto her brother's waist, pleading like she had no dignity. Not that she cared. "Pleaseeeeee!"

The older man scowled and tried to shake her off. "Kaijuu, you're getting on my nerves."

"I won't stop whining until you agree!" she begged again. "Just this week. _Pleaseee_!"

Nakuru rolled her eyes and whacked her former husband on the head with her pink slipper. "Just loan her the damn car. It's too early in the morning for this, Touya."

"I'm not married to you anymore," he pouted childishly. "Hmph!"

"Kinomoto Touya..." Nakuru ground her teeth together and raised the slipper into the air with a menacing look in her eyes. "Don't make me shove this thing down your throat—loan her the damn car for the week to _shut_ her up!"

Touya looked down at the pouting Sakura and crossed his arms together, still sulking like a little kid. He scoffed and said, "I refuse to help her get together with that... that... _gaki_."

Nakuru sighed exasperatedly and threw the slipper at his face. "_Touya_...!"

The man grumbled and reluctantly threw the keys over to Sakura. "If I find one scratch on Mercedes,"—he glared daggers at her—"I will castrate and slaughter the stupid brat."

"Don't you mean you'll kill me if anything happens to her?" Sakura asked.

"No. I mean I will hurt _him_," he said, "and _then_ lock you up in a convent."

Sakura rolled her eyes and threw her arms around him, pecking him lightly on the cheek. "Thanks, 'nii-chan! Thanks, 'nee-chan!"

And with that said, she ran off happily; hardly being able to contain her excitement.

Step two, set into action.

zZz

Sakura stood outside Otaka-san's bakery with her face to the glass window. She didn't see anyone inside, so she assumed that Syaoran's grandmother was in the back or something. What was she doing there exactly?

It was very simple. His grandmother sold sweets, and Sakura's house just _happened_ to be out of sweets; therefore, she was there to _buy_ sweets. No house was complete without sweets, right? And while she was there, she might as well chummy up to his grandmother. It never hurt to be a suck up...

Where was her dignity and pride?

Let's just say that dignity and pride eloped with desperation and pity, leaving her with nothing but shamelessness.

Oh... the things she did for a man—well, _Syaoran_ anyway...

A ding was heard when she opened the door.

"Otaka-san?" she called out quietly.

"Sakura!" the woman was delighted to see Sakura's face. "What can I get you, dear?"

"One chocolate and one red velvet cake, please."

"Sakura, I hope you don't think that I'm a nosy old woman, but did you and Syaoran have a fight?"

"W-what do you mean?"

"I haven't seen you two together for awhile now," the woman answered. "I came up to your apartment last week, but you weren't there. I don't see you with Syaoran on the workdays either. When I asked Syaoran, he said that you were taking time off work."

"Didn't he tell you that—" Sakura stopped abruptly and smiled to herself. _Li Syaoran, you are _not _getting away this time..._

"Didn't tell me what?"

"Ah, it's nothing..." she said and paid for the cakes. "Your sweets are really good. Can you teach me how to bake sometime?" she started on another subject.

"Any time you're willing to learn."

"Does today count as 'any time'?"

"What do you want to learn?"

Sakura smiled and sweetly said, "What is Syaoran's favorite cake?"

The elder woman laughed light-heartedly. "Let's go into the kitchen."

And Sakura set out to learn the trade of baking a cake.

Joy to the world—a cook was born!

Or not...

"Hoeeee!" Sakura shrieked when she saw the result of her chocolate _cake_. "It's as flat as me!"

She quickly slapped a hand over her mouth. _Oops_. That wasn't supposed to come out... _at all_.

"You followed my instructions, didn't you?" asked Otaka-san.

Sakura nodded. "I did everything."

"You remembered to put in the baking powder, right?"

"Baking...what? ... erm ... is that the thing in the blue box?"

"That's baking soda, honey."

She poked at the thing with her index finger. Yup. She was definitely bad at baking. She could cook, but she couldn't bake.

"Don't be discouraged, Sakura," the woman tried cheering her up. "Look on the bright side—now we have delicious brownies!"

"I suppose it's not a total loss," she said as took a piece of brownie. She immediately threw the thing away after the first bite. "Soooo sweet. I think I'm getting a toothache."

"How much sugar did you put in?"

"Three cups..."

"Obaa-san, are you in the kitchen!?"

Sakura quickly grabbed the plate of brownies and hid it behind her when she heard Meiling's voice. The black head came running into the kitchen like a hyper little child. Sakura gave an inward groan when she saw Syaoran entering the room after the other girl.

Don't get her wrong. She was happy to see his face, but she didn't want him to see her like _that_—after a failed attempt to make his favorite cake. Sakura prayed that his grandmother wouldn't say anything. Imagine how embarrassing it would be if he found out she'd made brownies by accident instead of a chocolate cake; not to mention that the brownies could give a person cavity with just one bite.

"Sakura, what are you doing here?" Meiling seemed to be asking the question for her cousin.

"...learning how to bake..." She answered quietly, ignoring the amused look on Syaoran's face.

"Bake what?" Meiling really needed to learn when to stop asking questions.

"Stuff."

"Like what?" Syaoran asked, not bothering to hide the amusement in his voice. "What's that behind you?"

Sakura panicked. "N-Nothing... it's nothing!"

"Brownies—I _love_ brownies!" Meiling exclaimed happily, jumping at Sakura. "I want a brownie!"

Meiling grabbed the plate before Sakura could say anything. "Syaoran, do you want to try the brownies that Sakura made out of _loooove_?"

The man shrugged and took a piece.

Sakura gulped. It was over.

"My _God_—you can kill somebody with this!" Meiling cried out.

"Okay, Meiling. Let's go outside."

Sakura was slightly grateful when Otaka-san decided to drag the younger girl out of the room, but she wasn't as pleased to be left in the room alone with Syaoran. She felt embarrassed. Normally, this would be one of the times in which Syaoran would make some sort of comments to make her feel better and she would flush like a tomato. _Normally_—when he was wooing her and not the other way around. But at that moment, _she_ was wooing him so things were much different.

"You don't have to eat it," she said when she noticed that he was finishing the brownie he started with. "I was just thinking of throwing it away."

"Don't waste good food." He took the plate of brownies and walked out of the kitchen, leaving a smiling Sakura to think about the _hidden_ message behind his words.

Sakura walked back out to the front, finding Syaoran standing by the counter as if he was waiting for her. She gave him a small smile as she went to stand beside him, pretending to look at some of the cakes on display.

"Do you like them?" she asked.

"Try a little less sugar next time," he answered.

Sakura turned to look at him, surprised. "There's going to be a next time?"

He shrugged. "Why don't you tell me?"

He shoved his hands into his pockets and started to walk away. "W-wait!" Sakura called out. "Why are you doing this...?"

"Doing what?"

"One moment, it seems like you're giving me the go to woo you," she said. "And the next... you're like distant towards me. What do you really want, Syaoran?"

He turned around and smiled at her. "What do _you_ want, Sakura?"

_You_, she answered in her mind.

"A date," she said instead. "I want a date."

"Are you asking me or telling me?"

"What if I'm asking you?"

"Then I will say no."

"And if I'm telling you?"

He smirked. "I don't like people telling me what to do," he said and walked out of the shop.

Sakura groaned in frustration and followed after him.

"Wait up!" She called out to him before he reached his car. "I will get my date." She looked into his eyes and said with determination.

"Neither asking or telling do, so what are you planning?"

He had a point.

He was going to say 'no' if she asked him, and telling him to was of no use. There _had_ to be another way... and there was. But it was a little daring and risky.

"Give me your keys," she said.

"Why?"

She grabbed the keys out of his hand and opened his car door. She left it open and turned to say to him, "Move far away from the car... okay?"

"Why?"

Sakura smiled. "Just watch."

She walked back to her own car—well, technically, it was Touya's car. She started the car and waited for oncoming cars to be clear before pulling out of her parking space. Once she put the car into drive, she stepped on the gas—heading straight for Syaoran's car door. When Syaoran realized what she was doing, it was too late; his door was flying eight feet through the air, hitting a parked car on the other side of the road.

Yup. Kinomoto Sakura was definitely a _responsible_ driver.

_They will never give me a car now..._ she groaned inwardly.

The bigger problem being her brother.

Syaoran tapped on her window and asked, "What the hell was _that_ for?"

Sakura smiled sweetly. "I'm getting a date with you."

"By damaging my car?"

"Well, you're not going to drive with one door missing—it's illegal," she continued. "Therefore, you will need a ride, considering you have a job and all. Your friends can't help you because they're at work, I don't see Meiling having a car, Yue definitely won't loan you his car, and you can't take a taxi around all day—looks like I'm your ride. Also, considering how expensive gases are lately, I think it's only polite of you to thank me for helping you out by agreeing to have dinner with me tonight."

He stared at her with an open mouth. "Unbelievable," he groaned.

Sakura giggled. "So, do I have a date?"

"Is this how you normally get dates?" He sighed. "I can see why you were single until 21."

Sakura frowned. "All you had to say was 'no'. Fine, take a taxi around then."

"I didn't say 'no'," he said. "But I want the wheels... I don't trust you behind wheels any more."

Step two, check.

Sakura unbuckled her seat belt and climbed over to the passenger seat. "For your information, I am a very coordinated driver."

Syaoran rolled his eyes and got into car. "Then explain to me, Miss _Coordinated_ Driver of The Year, how did my car door end up smashing into the windshield of another car?"

"Technically, this is _your_ fault. If you'd just say yes earlier, then none of this would've happened. And now you have to pay for the mechanic."

He laughed. "Oh, no—_you're_ paying for the mechanic."

Sakura frowned again.

That was _not_ good at all. She still had Touya's tab to take care of; she couldn't take care of another one. Maybe... _maybe_ she should start thinking about the consequences before actually doing something. That actually sounded like a very good idea.

Sakura stroked the car gently. "I'm sorry for hurting you again, Mercedes, but why do you have to cost so freaking much to fix up? You're drilling a hole through my bank account!"

"Are you... _talking_ to the car?"

"Syaoran, meet Mercedes. Mercedes, meet Syaoran."

"You named a Mercedes-Benz..._Mercedes_? Pretty original," he snorted.

"Touya's car," she corrected. "And does my brother look like the original type to you?"

"He's not going to be happy about the dent."

"Well... when I begged him for the car this morning, he said if anything happens to her then he's going to castrate and slaughter _you_."

Syaoran slammed onto the brake. He started hyperventilating. "_What were you thinking_!?" Sakura shrugged. "I have a feeling that your brother just _adores_ me," he said with all the sarcasm in the world.

"We'll just take her to an auto shop and fix her up."

zZz

After spending about five hours at the auto shop, Mercedes was good as new like nothing happened to her. Sakura _carefully_ drove home after dropping Syaoran at his place so they could get ready for their supposedly 'date' that she had to went through a lot of trouble to set up—and she meant _a lot_ of trouble. She was going to kill if anything went wrong that night. K-I-L-L. _KILL_!

"Kaijuu!" She heard her brother shouted while she was trying to get ready for her date. "You are _so_ dead!"

Sakura screamed when he suddenly bolted into her bedroom. "GET OUT! I'm wearing my bra!"

He rolled his eyes. "_Please_. I changed your diapers," he commented dryly. "Besides... I've seen better."

"Get out! _Get out_! GET OUT!!!" She slammed the door with a bang and locked it up.

"Don't think this is over!" He yelled from the other side of the door, banging and kicking. "I smell another _man_ inside Mercedes. I'm going to find the bastard that touched her!"

Sakura groaned.

_Oh, Kami-sama._

Mercedes... that _traitor_. To think that Sakura was _good_ to the piece of scrap.

zZz

"Well... doesn't this just seem lovely," Syaoran remarked sarcastically when Sakura showed up at his apartment with a bouquet of flowers. "_Flowers_?"

"Isn't this what you do when you pick someone up on a date?"

"Oh, right. And I'm suppose to say something like 'Oh my gosh, that is so beautiful! You shouldn't have!' ... right?"

Sakura giggled. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah. Are we using your brother's car?" he asked as he closed the door behind him.

"No," she answered. "If I come home tonight with Mercedes smelling like _man_, Touya is going to tear my head off."

"Your brother can tell scents?"

"Apparently. Now he's on the hunt for the bastard that touched her this afternoon."

Syaoran cocked an eyebrow. "So... _now_ I'm a bastard?"

"You always were and always will be." He grunted at her answer. Sakura smiled and added, "Just kidding."

"So whose car are we using?" he asked.

"Yukito-san was kind enough to loan me his car for the week," she said.

"Oh," was all he said as they got into the elevator.

Neither said anything until they got to the car. Syaoran took the liberty of driving since it was kind of awkward to let Sakura drive in a dress. Sakura rested her head against the window, running topics through her mind. She couldn't come up with anything, and she didn't want to start the night off with an awkward conversation either. She could suddenly picture Koji in front of her, telling her what a horrible student she was.

_Sorry, sensei, I failed you..._

Even when they were in the restaurant, they didn't say anything to each other. Sakura wanted to break the silence, but she was afraid she'd say something really stupid. Like _really_ stupid.

"What's your relation with him?"

She snapped out of her thoughts hearing Syaoran's voice. "Who?" she asked.

"The guy from the other day..." He was holding tightly onto his knife and fork. If he'd cut the steak any harder, he probably would've broken the whole plate.

Sakura giggled. "Are you jealous, Syaoran?"

He snorted. "Just answer me."

"Yukito is a friend of Nakuru and Touya. He is like a second brother to me." She looked at him quietly. "He is happily married with two adorable daughters."

"Oh..."

"Want to play a game?" she asked.

"A game?"

"Twenty questions."

Syaoran groaned. "I _hate_ that game."

"It'll be fun," she smiled. "Okay... I go first."

"Why do you get to go first?"

"Because I'm the lady." She rolled her eyes. Wooing him was such a pain in the ass. "Do you want to go first?"

"I don't want to decline a lady," he flashed her a really, _really_ cute smile—too cute. "What's your favorite flower?"

"Cherry blossom," Sakura answered. "Yours?"

"Peony."

"Why?"

"Is that a question?"

"Is that a question as well?"

"You've just wasted two questions." He grinned. "I have 18 left, and you have 17."

_Let's make these questions count..._ Sakura thought.

"_Were_ you jealous, Syaoran?" she asked.

He stopped eating to look at her briefly and then returning to his dinner. "Yes," he answered quietly. "Did you make the brownies for me?"

"It was supposed to be a cake."

"What happened?"

Sakura smiled. "You've just wasted a question. I used baking soda instead of baking powder."

"Figures," he snorted. "Your turn."

"Did you like them?"

He nodded.

"It's your turn."

"...what you said the other day... did you...." he trailed off quietly. "...mean it?"

"Every word of it." She smiled. "We each have 15 left."

"This is taking forever," he grunted. "Can we stop?"

"No, and you just wasted one. Boxers or briefs?"

Syaoran choked on his dinner. "W-what?"

"Do you wear boxers or briefs?"

"You're asking this over dinner?!"

"What's wrong with it?"

"It's something no one wants to discuss while eating. How would you like it if I ask you panties or G-strings?" he said. "Besides... _you_ should know what I wear," he added quietly, a blush creeping onto his cheeks.

"Care to remind me though?"

"You are evil."

She giggled. "Okay, no more silly questions. Syaoran, why do you like me? Taguchi-san said that you came back to look for me... why? Why do you like someone for eighteen years when you don't know anything about the person?"

"That counts as three questions," he said. "I was just a little kid when we met. I guess it started out as puppy love and then it just brewed into something else when I met you. You probably don't know this, but when your mother passed away and you started crying, I was standing nearby. You were crying, yet you didn't understand that your mother wasn't coming back."

"Then what?"

"Believe it or not, you're the first person that had ever talked to me. I just felt a connection with you... I guess in my mind I sort of _claimed_ you to be my first girlfriend."

"When you asked me to your girlfriend, is it because you really liked me or is it because of what happened eighteen years ago?"

"Which one do you prefer?" he asked. "I like you either way."

"Do you hate me for lying to you?"

"No... I told myself that I could forget you. I couldn't move on, no matter how hard I convinced myself I could. The times that we bumped into each other, you don't know how hard it was for me to control myself." He continued. "I was watching you at Eriol's party. I was always watching you when you are unaware of my presence. I kept asking myself whether you've moved on or not. Did you miss me? Did you think about me? Did I mean anything to you? And then Taguchi came to talk to me. He told me you called off the engagement. I was happy. I was _really_ happy, but I also felt disgusted with myself. Disgusted that I was happy at my friend's situation."

"He wanted to call off the engagement ever since he'd known about it," Sakura said. "You're not to blame for our engagement. Yes, I missed you. Yes, I thought about you every day. And yes, you meant a lot to me—you _still_ do."

"What happened between us, Sakura?"

She was quiet. "I don't know... Maybe this was meant to happen so that we can figure things out between us."

"Maybe..."

"Syaoran, our relationship meant something to me," Sakura said. "You made me feel _things_ I've never felt before. I don't want to lose you as much as you don't want to lose me. I'm scared, too... scared of the future."

"Where do you see us in the future?"

"I will not lie to you again—I honestly do not know. Where do you see us?"

"I know where I want us to be, but life just doesn't go your way... does it?" He finished the last of his wine. "Since you have to drive home, it's getting late. Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah. Want me to drive us back? You drank quite a few."

"I'll be fine."

"You sure?"

He nodded. "Let's call it a night."

zZz

They walked back to his apartment, neither wanted to move. They just stood outside his apartment, gazing into space and occasionally stealing a glimpse at the other person. Sakura felt her heart pounding for some unknown reason. She wondered if he felt the same thing as well.

"Will you be moving back here?" he asked.

"Yeah," she answered quietly.

"Hm."

And more silence.

"Syaoran, do you forgive me?"

"A long time ago, Sakura—I forgave you a long time ago. There's nothing more to forgive."

Sakura took in a deep breath.

_Question 20..._

"Can we start over from the beginning, Syaoran?"

"No." He said, not even thinking about the question for a second. He just said it, like he was sure in the answer. "I don't want to start over..."

"Oh..."

Sakura sadly looked at the floor.

She guessed... if he made his decision, then she could only respect him by accepting the answer.

"Thank you for tonight, Syaoran." She forced up a smile, though she wasn't looking at him directly. "I had fun. It was really nice sitting down and talking to you again. I really missed it. I better go home before my Onii-chan sends out a search party for me."

She pushed herself lightly off the wall and started to walk away. A strong hand pulled her back abruptly, and she found herself resting against Syaoran's chest, his head buried in her neck. She could feel her hairs standing up just feeling his breath against her skin.

He slid his arms around her protectively and said, "It's rude to leave when we haven't finished our game."

"Syaoran..." Sakura said quietly, finding it hard to speak with their position like that. "You said..."

"Question 19..." he ignored what she was saying. "Will you stay with me for awhile?"

She nodded.

"And the last question," he continued. "You cannot lie. Do you love me?"

Sakura felt her heart beating faster.

"Yes..."

"That's all I need to know..."

He opened the door and led Sakura inside.


	19. Chapter 19

**Author's Notes** (06/06/12): Due to FFN going through a crackdown to make sure this site doesn't contain MA stories and the site's vague definition of M stories, I have removed this chapter's "smut" (notice the quotes?) scene to be on the safe side. But for the "smut" scene, you can check it out here: **goo** dot **gl/3MWl9**

**o**

**o**

**I'm In Love with a Plumber**

* * *

Rule Number Nineteen:  
Love_ in a relationship is pretty simple:  
You_ give _love. You_ receive _love. You_ make _love._

**oOo**

_Step Three-Three course meal._

Once inside the apartment, Syaoran closed his arms around Sakura, pulling her as close as he could.

"Couch?" he said in her ear.

She nodded shyly. Syaoran placed his hand gently under her chin and lifted her face up so that their face were inches apart. His lips moved against her throat, nuzzling against her neck, and then he began to murmur. All those soft, seductive words that she had dreamed and fantasized about hearing.

He buried his head in her soft, sweet-smelling hair. Syaoran heard her sigh and he pulled back slowly.

"I'm not going to do anything that you don't want me to," he said.

She blinked, then whispered. "Kiss me." Although she wasn't _just_ asking for a single kiss alone.

"Are you sure?"

Sakura nodded.

He found her lips and kissed her. A slow, gentle, exploring kiss. The taste of him bewitched her. Sakura lifted her head and gazed into his eyes.

The invitation in her eyes was unmistakable. Desire and need clearly glittered in her eyes. A sensual need grew inside him as he smashed his lips against hers and parted her lips. His tongue pushed inside her, tasting her sultry flavor. Their tongues mated, danced, and seduced each other.

He led her across the room to a leather couch, their lips still locked as Syaoran laid Sakura down gently. He shifted to a more comfortable position so that he wasn't crushing his weight down on her entirely.

Sakura broke the kiss abruptly.

He gave her a concerned look and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I just remember that I left the cakes at your grandmother's shop this morning..."

He groaned. "Sakura, that was at least eleven hours ago—why _now_?"

"Am I ruining the mood?"

"Yes."

"S-Sorry." She blushed slightly, and blushed more because of the embarrassment of blushing in front of him at a time like that. "Sometimes, it's like I can't control my own mouth..."

He smirked. "I can help with _that_." A long finger stroked her cheek. He coaxed her mouth open and slipped his tongue inside. The touch of his lips was gentle and tentative. A soft sigh escaped her throat as Syaoran fully claimed her lips.

In a heartbeat, the kiss turned rough. Teeth scraped skin, bit, nipped. Tongues invaded, clashed, plundered. A need formed deep inside her, a strange aching desire she had not felt before. His lips and tongue were magical, bringing soft moans from her throat. Syaoran broke the kiss, but only momentarily. His lips began to place soft little touches on her nose, her cheeks and then her neck. Trembles of desire shook her body, and he pulled her closer to him.

Her hands roamed over his shirt, her fingers moving gingerly until her hands wound around his neck, and she whimpered, feeling her control slipping away. She felt her body melt into his; even the slightest touch made her shiver—the sensitivity she had for his every move was so intense.

Her heart was pounding. She wanted him so badly.

"Syaoran." Her voice sounded rusty to her own ears.

His lips found hers again, and she responded, thrusting her tongue into his mouth, deepening the kiss. Unexpectedly, he pulled away.

"Wait," he said in a rasping voice. "We can't..."

Disappointment was clearly shown in her voice as she asked, "W-Why not?"

He chuckled and kissed her gingerly. "Bedroom," he whispered.

"Carry me?" she asked cutely.

"Lazy," he said as his gently picked her up in his arms.

She traced teasing circles over his chest and said, "And whose fault is it that I feel like Jell-O?"

He laughed. He carried her into the bedroom and lowered her gently onto the mattress.

Sakura turned her head to the side and looked away timidly as Syaoran stared at her body, a deep yearning in his eyes. She buried her head into his shirt, trying to hide her face from him, her 'problems' hitting in once again.

He let out a small sigh and stroked her hair softly. "Sakura, look at me..." his voice was relaxing and soothing to the ears. "You're _beautiful_... just perfect."

She didn't think there _was_ a word to describe the sensual feeling.

"I want you. No, I need you," he whispered in her ear. His voice was so deep she could feel her body tingle with every word.

**- - - x - - -**

Step three, check.

Mission Accomplished.

**- - - x - - -**

Sakura thought she was dreaming when she woke up with a pair of arms around her. She blocked a ray of sunlight from her eyes and realized they were _Syaoran's_ arms. She closed her eyes again and relaxed; it _wasn't_ a dream. She opened her eyes again to observe the sleeping figure beside her. He looked so serene and peaceful, so innocent and vulnerable; she didn't want to wake him up.

She pulled the blanket close to her body, shivering when she realized just how cold she suddenly was. She glanced over at the digital watch on his bedside table and sighed. Her brother was probably looking for her through every crack and hole while she was snuggling against her... erm... what _were_ they?

He didn't _officially_ ask her out again. So, technically, they weren't dating. Yet... she slept with him _and_ she told him she loved him.

_Hoeeee!_

Sakura realized that she had just gotten the long end of the stick.

_Note to self: Sex is a really, really evil Devil_—_with his temptations and sticks..._

"Stupid, Syaoran..." She started muttering under her breath.

"And why am I stupid?"

She practically shot out of bed when she heard his voice beside her. When did he wake up, and how did he manage to nuzzle against her neck without her knowing so? Okay... _that_ was definitely scary.

"Syaoran, what are we?" She asked, quietly, averting her eyes to the ceiling.

"The last time I check, we're still human beings."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Even I knew that. I'm not _that_ stupid, you know."

He smirked. "How stupid _are_ you really?" he teased.

"Jerk."

He chuckled and pulled her body close to his, reminding her again of the fact that they were both still bare and naked—_very_ naked.

"Sakura, after last night and everything, what do you think we are?" he said.

Sakura flushed. "I d-don't know..."

"Alright, then. What do you _want_ us to be?" he grinned.

"You already know the answer."

"But I want to hear you say it."

"Lovers. I want us to be lovers." Was that too bold to say?

Syaoran gently placed a kiss on her lips and said, "Me too. Can you say it again?"

Sakura frowned. "I said it all night last night!" she protested.

"I want to hear you say it again."

"Koji was wrong when he called you an _insecure_ bastard."

"Remind me to kick his ass later. Meanwhile... say _it_."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "You have cute feet."

He smiled brightly. "Now every part of my body has been complimented."

She rolled her eyes again. Of _all_ the parts on his body, she just _had_ to mention his feet. She just _had_ to. Ever since she'd made the very stupid comment, he'd made her say it over and over and over again, like he'd never heard anybody say 'Hey, cute feet' to somebody else.

Actually... Sakura was probably one of the very few _special_ people to compliment their partner's feet while making love. And Syaoran was probably the _only_ man in the world to be ecstatic about the compliment because it meant every part of his body had been complimented—was that like a record breaking milestone for men or something?

"Why do people keep mistakenly tell me that _you're_ insecure?"

_Did_ he seem like an insecure person? _Heck_. No.

For some reason, Sakura felt as though she was duped. Didn't know why, though.

He smiled smugly.

"By the way, Syaoran..." Sakura smiled subtly. "Your grandmother said something to me yesterday that had me thinking for a while."

"What?"

"Why did you tell her that I was '_taking time off work_'?" she said. "You dumped me, didn't you? Why didn't you tell her the truth, eh?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Aw, c'mon!"

"I didn't tell her because I was holding onto the hope that we'd get back together," he answered, feeling somewhat embarrassed. "I was like a living corpse after our break up, literally."

"I wasn't better off either—getting jealous and everything."

"Jealous? Of what?"

"I saw you together with a woman outside of your apartment after Eriol's party, but you were drunk. I assumed that you moved on, and I jumped to the conclusion that I didn't mean anything to you."

"Sakura... if you have anymore secret fiancés I should know about, tell me now."

She giggled. "No more. Just the previous one."

"Good." He smiled.

"Hey, Syaoran?"

"Hm?"

"Are you free today?" she asked, drawing circles on his chest. "I want to introduce you to my family."

"I already met them," he said matter-of-factly.

"You know what I meant..."

He smiled. "I'm always free for you, Sakura."

"You might want to be careful with Touya though."

"I'll make sure to have tranquilizers with me." He wasn't kidding. He was going to bring tranquilizers with him (if he could buy some...).

Sakura didn't know if it was such a good idea to personally introduce Syaoran to her family, especially her brother. She still remembered Nakuru's reaction a few weeks ago; her father would probably smile and treat Syaoran like he was part of the family; but Touya... _he_ was the obstacle.

"I think it's time for breakfast," he said all of a sudden and squeezed her shoulder lightly.

Since he mentioned it, she was _really_ hungry.

"What do you want?" she turned to ask him.

"Omelettes are nice." There was something devious about his smile; like he was planning something, and she should be scared. "You get the eggs ready and I'll take care of the filling."

He kissed her fervently, holding the kiss for as long as he could before breaking it, burying his face in her neck, kissing her hair. He kissed her ear and then her cheek before capturing her mouth again. Realization dawned Sakura in the face when she felt his hands traveling down her body.

_My. God._

He was _so_ not talking about _omelettes_...

"Syaoran, I thought you said you wanted breakfast..." She managed to say when his mouth moved to the nape of her neck.

"Hmhmm."

"Sya—_ahh_...Syaoran...I'm t-tired."

"Are you, Sakura? Are you?" he smiled charmingly.

_Ohh._ Curse _the fetishes._

"Haven't you had enough last night?"

"Seven is the lucky number," he said and kicked the cover onto the floor.

_Note to self:_ Breakfast _in bed is evil, too._

zZz

Sakura stepped out of the shower and wrapped her auburn hair in one of the coarse, bleach-white hotel towels that Syaoran had laid out for her after his shower. She grabbed a towel off the rack and wrapped it around her body.

"Hey, baby...?" He called out to her from the bedroom.

She smiled at the petname. "Yeah?"

"Can you come here for a minute?"

"What is it?" she asked as she walked into the bedroom, finding him standing by the window.

"You remember that time when I said I can see your bathroom from my bedroom window?" She nodded. "Well," he continued, slowly. "I think you can see my bedroom—with a full view of the bed—from your bathroom window."

"So?"

"You have men working on your apartment...right?"

She nodded, still not getting where the conversation was leading. "What about...? _Oh. My. GOD_!" She screamed and ran over to the window.

Standing around her bathroom window were the three men who were supposed to be _working_—_not_ standing around and enjoying a free Pay-Per-View show. Sakura slapped herself in the head when one of the men decided to give them two thumbs up through the open window.

_Maybe_ they didn't see anything. Who was she kidding? If they didn't see anything, then why were they packing up by the window? Oh, yeah... she was screwed. Well, technically speaking, she _was_ screwed.

"Well..." Syaoran said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "It was only fifteen minutes."

Sakura rolled her eyes. _Yeah... ONLY fifteen minutes_.

Things couldn't get any worse... right?

Actually... it _did_.

"_KAWAIIIIIIIII_!" a voice exclaimed loudly.

A chirpy Tomoyo was waving to them from the open window...with a—_what else?_—camcorder in her hand.

"SMILE AT THE CAMERA!"

Sakura sweatdropped and pulled down the blind.

"I'll light the fireplace," said Syaoran.

She quickly slid into her dress and walked out of the room. "I'll get the tape."


	20. Chapter 20

**I'm In Love with a Plumber**

* * *

Rule Number Twenty:  
_There_ IS _no such thing as 'happily ever after',  
There's only you and me... 'til death._

**oOo**

Okay. So the day didn't start out so great for Sakura, but things were definitely shaping up.

_I think..._

It took her awhile but she managed to get the tape from Tomoyo, and Syaoran immediately threw it into the fireplace. The other girl had started crying until she conned Sakura into promising to tell her the details of the 'events' from the night before. In exchange, the couple made the girl promised not to tell another soul—especially her boyfriend—what took place that morning.

"What are you doing here anyway?" Sakura decided to ask.

"I dropped by your house, but Nakuru said you didn't come home last night from your date," Tomoyo smiled and briefly looked at Syaoran, "and I just knew what that meant. The landlord told me you two lived on this floor, but I didn't think you two were awake so I went into Sakura's apartment instead to look at the construction and everything. Then I saw the workers gathering in your bathroom and decided to check it out. That's when I saw—"

"Yes, we know what you saw." Syaoran interrupted her immediately. "No need to say the obvious, Tomoyo."

"Must hand it to you two," she smiled sweetly. "That was quite a show."

Sakura groaned. "Can we just erase this and forget that it ever happened?"

Syaoran nodded in agreement. Tomoyo continued to smile. "I promise my lips are sealed... _if_ I get the behind-the-bedroom-door details."

"Eriol corrupted you, didn't he?" Sakura held a fist in the air. "I knew he's bad influence!"

The girl giggled. "We'll continue this conversation later, Sakura. I don't want Syaoran-kun to die of embarrassment."

Syaoran looked away to hide his blush.

"Oh, is there a reason for your unexpected house visit?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah." Tomoyo reached into her purse and slid two white envelopes across the table. "Eriol and I would like you two to be our best man and maid of honor."

"Holy fuc—" Syaoran yowled when he was suddenly knocked onto the ground as Sakura rushed to hug her best friend. The girls jumped up and down, screaming and yelling with excitement. Syaoran sighed.

"Tomoyo, this is so exciting!" Sakura exclaimed. "You're getting married to—_ERIOL_!!!"

And the information finally sunk into her head. _OH. MY. GOD! Tomoyo is marrying that...that...that MAN!_

"Eh...? Is something wrong Sakura?" Tomoyo asked when she noticed the sudden change in the girl's behavior. "Are you not...happy about the marriage?"

"No, no! That's not it. I'm really happy for you, Tomoyo."

As much as Sakura hated to admit it, Tomoyo marrying Eriol wasn't as bad as it seemed. Sakura could tell that the two were passionately in love with each other. Despite how much she loathed Eriol, she knew that he would be good to her best friend.

_Eww!_ Sakura suddenly realized something. Eriol was going to be her cousin-in-law. Man. That sucked—being related to him.

"The wedding is in three months," said Tomoyo. "Sakura, you and Nakuru will have to help me with everything!"

"How did he propose?!"

"I came home from work and there was a candlelight dinner on the balcony." Sakura was taking in deep breaths and letting it out with an 'aww' as she listened to the story. "I asked him what the occasion was for, and he just popped it out. He recited this really sweet poem."

"Let me guess, it went something like—letters start with ABC, numbers start with 123, music starts with Do Re Mi, but love starts with you and me?" Syaoran and Sakura exchanged silent glances at each other and smiled.

Tomoyo nodded. "How did you know?"

"Ahh, you'd be surprised... continue with your story," he said with a smile.

"So, then he just popped the question. I cried and said yes."

"I want to see the ring!" Sakura exclaimed excitedly. She squealed loudly when she saw the ring.

Syaoran rubbed his temples slowly. "Why did God give women so much extra energy?" Was it possible to get a hangover from too much sex... or maybe it was just the screaming? Either way... _dang_. His head hurt.

"Aw, Syaoran, wipe that sour look off your face!" Tomoyo suddenly threw a happy arm around his shoulder. "When you and Sakura get married, you'll be just as happy...if not more!"

Sakura blushed slightly at the comment of her, Syaoran, and marriage together in one sentence. She wouldn't mind it. Not that she was saying she would want to marry him—but she wasn't saying she didn't either. She just meant that _IF_ they did get married in the future, then she would really..._really_—Okay, enough.

"I just want to say that I have dibs on matron of honor," said the other girl. "_AND_ I want to be the godmother of your children."

"We're not even there yet!" Sakura exclaimed.

Syaoran grinned slightly and took her hand into his. "Do you want to get there though?"

She blushed again.

"SO CUTE!" Tomoyo squealed with delight.

"Oh, _God_, that's all I can take," said Syaoran. He put his hands on the girl's back and _kindly_ showed her to the door before pushing her out and slamming the door to her face. "As much as I love her cooking, _damn_ that was getting on my nerves."

Sakura giggled and draped her arms around his neck. "Well, well... _best_ man."

"Hm?"

"Are you ready?"

"To meet your family as your boyfriend?" She nodded at his question. "Can we drop by my lawyer first so I can make out my will?"

Sakura laughed. "It won't be that bad."

"If something bad happens, you're going to make it up to me later."

For some strange reason, all those words spelled out 'SEX' to Sakura... and she wasn't talking about scrabble.

zZz

"Touya, _what_ the hell is this?!" Sakura screamed at the top of her lungs when her brother shoved a clipboard and pen to Syaoran's face.

"Since you brought him home to meet his respected elders," the man answered, "he has to fill that form out."

Sakura and Syaoran sweatdropped.

"Sakura... help?" Syaoran turned to his _girlfriend_ to throw him a lifeline.

"Otou-san!" Sakura turned to her father.

Fujitaka smiled sweetly. "Touya, maybe you can—" he shivered under Touya's glare, "—would you like a quiet place to fill out the form, Li-kun?"

"Otou-san!" Sakura couldn't believe that her father had easily caved into Touya's ridiculous idea. She had no other option but to turn to someone who was more powerful that her brother. "Onee-chaaaaan!"

"This might be entertaining," the woman said. "Besides... it's _just_ a form."

Sakura groaned. Maybe she should have skipped the whole 'meet-the-family' crap.

_Dang..._

Why did God make her brother _so_ protective?

"What's the form about anyway?" Sakura said with curiosity as she looked at the form with Syaoran.

**APPLICATION TO DATE MY SISTER**

(REVOCABLE AT ANY TIME)

NOTE - This application will be Incomplete and rejected unless accompanied by a complete financial statement, school history, job history, lineage, and current medical report from your doctor. If you're under 18 then please have your parent(s) or guardian with you.

1. FULL NAME: ———————————— DATE OF BIRTH: ———————

2. FATHER'S NAME: —————— MOTHER'S NAME: ———————

3. HOW MANY SIBLINGS? ———

4. WHAT'S YOUR PROFESSION? ———————— SALARY? —————

5. HEIGHT:——— WEIGHT: ——— IQ: ——— GPA: ———

6. SOCIAL SECURITY No: ————————— DRIVERS LICENSE No: ————————

7. BOY SCOUT RANK:————————————————

8. HOME ADDRESS: ———————————————————— PHONE: ————————

9. Do you have one MALE and one FEMALE parent? Yes —— No —— If NO, explain:

——————————————————————————————————————

——————————————————————————————————————

10. Number of years parents married: ——— If less than your age, explain:

——————————————————————————————————————

——————————————————————————————————————

11. DO YOU OWN A VAN? —— A TRUCK WITH OVERSIZED TIRES OR CAMPER SHELL? —— WATERBED? —— MOTORCYCLE? —— TATOO? —— COLOR ALTERED HAIR? —— A CONDOM? —— PORNOGRAPHY? —— EARRING, NOSE RING, BELLY RING? —— SMOKE? —— (IF YES TO ANY PART OF #11, DISCONTINUE APPLICATION AND LEAVE PREMISES IMMEDIATELY.)

12. In 50 words or less, what does "Late" mean to you?

——————————————————————————————————————

——————————————————————————————————————

13. In 50 words or less, what does "DO NOT TOUCH MY SISTER" mean to you?

——————————————————————————————————————

——————————————————————————————————————

14. In 50 words or less, what does "ABSTINENCE" mean to you?

——————————————————————————————————————

——————————————————————————————————————

15. What church do you attend? ——————————— How often do you attend? ——/ week

16. When would be the best time to interview your:

FATHER? ————— MOTHER? ————— PRIEST? ————— PAROLE OFFICER? —————

17. Fill in the blanks: Please answer freely - all answers are confidential (That means I won't tell anyone - I promise):

A. If I were shot, the last place on my body I would want to be wounded is in the ——————

B. If I were beaten, the last bone I would want broken is my ——————

C. A women's place is in the ——————

D. The one thing I hope this application does not ask me about is ——————

E. I like —————— girls. (Use an adjective, moron.)

F. I like to go —————— in the fall. I go —————— in the summer. I like to ride my —————— in the winter.

G. When I first meet a girl, the first thing I notice is —————————— (NOTE: If the answer to "G" begins with a B, T, or A, discontinue and leave the premises immediately with your _head_ hung low.)

18. Do you plan to marry my sister? —— (Yes or No; Maybe is _not_ acceptable.)  
If YES, _thoroughly_ state your plans —————————————————————————

—————————————————————————————————————————. If NO, leave _now_.

19. Condoms come in packages of (check one): — 3 — 6 — 9 — 12 — All of the above.  
How do you know? ———————————————————

20. If you are to "magically" die in your sleep one beautiful evening, what would you like me to tell my sister?

——————————————————————————————————————

I SWEAR THAT ALL INFORMATION SUPPLIED ABOVE IS TRUE AND CORRECT TO THE BEST OF MY KNOWLEDGE UNDER PENALTY OF DEATH, DISMEMBERMENT, CRUCIFIXION, ELECTROCUTION, CHINESE WATER TORTURE, AND RED HOT POKERS.

——————————— Signature (That means sign your name, moron.)

Thank you for your interest. Please allow four to six years for processing. You will be contacted in writing if you are approved. Please do not try to call or write (this action will void this application). If your application is rejected, you will be notified by two gentleman wearing black shirts and white ties carrying violin cases (you might want to watch your back).

Have a nice day.

**- Kinomoto Touya.**

Blink. Blink.

Sakura couldn't believe it. "_Oh. My. GOD_!" was all she could say.

"You can fill the form out in your car," Touya said. "At any moment if you feel like giving up, just drive away and we will understand. Ring the doorbell when you're done."

Syaoran wiped the sweats from his forehead. Dear, _God_, someone help the poor guy. Before he could say anything though, the older—also taller and stronger—man had wrung him by the neck and threw him out the door with a _BANG_!

Sakura sadly waved to him from the window before walking back into the living room and stomping on her brother's foot. "How long did it take you to write that?"

He shrugged. "I wrote it when you entered junior high—made a lot of copies and handed them out to every guy that looked your way."

Sakura twitched. "So _you're_ the reason why I've been single until now?!"

"The form works like a charm."

"OHH!" Sakura stomped on his foot again.

zZz

Sakura didn't know if it was a good thing or a bad thing, but her brother was twitching while he looked over Syaoran's answers. Syaoran refused to let her see what his answers were so she didn't know what was going on when Touya growled dangerously and glared daggers at Syaoran's heart. It was...scary.

"Stupid gaki." Touya mumbled under his breath.

"Did I pass?" asked Syaoran.

"Wait five or six years and I'll let you know."

Syaoran twitched.

Okay, what was it with the twitching? Everyone was twitching! Touya was twitching, Syaoran was twitching, even Sakura was twitching! No wait... that was an itch. Nevermind.

"Onii-chan!" Sakura pouted.

Touya snorted. "Fine. Three months," he said. "In the next three months, I will have my eyes and ears on the two of you _very_ closely. So watch yourself, gaki. After three months, you can do whatever you want."

Sakura threw her arms around her brother and planted wet kisses onto his cheek. "I love you, 'nii-chan!"

"Yeah. Yeah." He snorted again, trying to hide the smile on his face.

"Thank you." Syaoran said and extended his hand out politely.

Touya growled and reluctantly shook his hands _after_ Nakuru punched him in the arm. "Just remember that I'm watching you."

Syaoran smiled nervously, trying hard not to scream 'Fuck!' at the pressure the other man was putting into the handshake. That was no handshake. It was like a death grasp. "Oh, I'll remember..."

"Wait a minute..." Touya took a step toward Syaoran and started sniffing him carefully. Syaoran consciously took a step back. "It was _you_!!!" the older man hollered with a 'ready-to-kill' expression written on his face. "YOU TOUCHED _MY_ MERCEDES!"

And all hell broke loose.

zZz

Three months later...

"Honey, have you seen my box with the red bow on it?" Syaoran asked, running about the room and digging through drawers.

"What box?" Sakura was too busy putting on her make-up to pay attention to her frantic boyfriend.

They had only been dating for about three months, and they seemed like a married couple already. He was running about, trying to find the item he'd lost, and she was trying to ignore to his idiocy. Sakura had been living with Syaoran for nearly two months already. She moved in with him after Nakuru decided to take the apartment for herself.

"I swear I put it inside one of these drawers!" Syaoran growled.

"I'm telling you I didn't see any box."

"Are you sure you didn't go through the drawers and accidentally throw it away?"

"Why would I?"

"I don't know!" He yelled in frustration. "I'm s-sorry... I'm just stressed out with Eriol's wedding and all."

Sakura rubbed his arm gently. "Is it important?" she asked.

He ran a hand through his messy brown hair. "I was supposed to keep it for Koji," he said. "He asked me to keep a gift for him."

"What for?"

"He wants to surprise Michiru or something... _God_, can't believe I lost it!"

"When was the last time you saw it?" Sakura started to look in the places she thought he'd probably missed. "Are you sure you put it in the drawers and not the closet or under the pillows?"

Syaoran scoffed. "Why would I put it under our pillows? Clearly, the last time I saw the darn box was when I—"

"When you were...?"

He smiled and shook his head. "Just remember that I gave it back to him already."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Well, we have to get to the restaurant soon. We don't want to be late again like this morning, now _do_ we?"

He chuckled nervously and said, "It wasn't that bad."

"Yeah, Syaoran, it wasn't _that_ bad." Sakura snorted. "The best man and maid of honor arrived at their best friends' wedding an hour and a half _late_, because the best man _forgot_ which church the ceremony was held at, and they both ended up crashing someone else's wedding. Tell me, _sweetums_, what can be worse than that?"

"At least we made it to the ceremony."

"I don't get how you could've forgotten which church it was."

He scoffed. "Not like you remembered."

"Well, the important thing is we're not going to embarrass ourselves tonight." She draped her arms around his neck and kissed him lightly. "We will stay low for the night until everyone forgets about this morning."

He grinned. "How _low_?"

She smacked him playfully. "Is sex all you ever think about?"

"No, I also think about you every second of my life." He brushed her cheek with a gentle kiss. "You look beautiful tonight."

"And you're the handsomest best man on this planet."

Syaoran smirked. "I'll make a pretty smoking groom, too."

Sakura laughed. "Well, Eriol should be one with the spotlight—after all, he's the groom today."

"What time do we have to be at the restaurant?"

"Seven."

"What time is it now?"

"Twenty 'til seven."

"How long does it take to get there?"

Sakura sighed. "Ten minutes without traffic, but it's a Sunday evening so probably fifteen minutes."

"Good. I'll just need five."

"Five? For wha—_NOW_?!"

zZz

"Hallelujah!!! I'm surprised you managed to remember the correct restaurant." Eriol drawled sarcastically when the best man and maid of honor arrived at the entrance.

Sakura rolled her eyes and Syaoran snorted. "Shut up."

"At least you're not late," said the black head. "I'd have to make Koji or Taguchi my best man if you're late again."

The men exchanged conversations that only interested them while the women embraced and commented on each other's appearance. "Tomoyo, you look so beautiful!" Sakura exclaimed in awe. "You're the most beautiful woman today!"

The other girl giggled. "We'll just wait until _your_ wedding, Sakura."

The men finished whatever conversation they were having on the side and Eriol said, "We only have to wait for a few more people and the reception can start. Sakura will start us off with her speech, and Syaoran will give his toast before we cut the cake."

"I thought Syaoran was giving his toast at the end," said Sakura.

Syaoran smiled and wrapped an arm around her waist. "There's been some changes. Let's go inside and greet the other guests, _dear_."

He led her inside before she could say another word. For the next half an hour or so, Sakura found herself going from one table to the next and talking to the guests. She looked around desperately for Syaoran when three old women started attacking her with questions like wild hawks. Somehow, they'd ended up separating from each other, and she couldn't find him anywhere. She practically screamed in joy when he found her again.

"I found the others," he said and smiled politely at the old women. "Excuse us, please."

"What took you so long?" Sakura whispered under her breath as they walked away.

"These men wouldn't let me leave until I finished a full bottle of champagne," he answered.

"How are you feeling?"

"Good enough to do a quick three minutes," he joked.

"Dear Lord..."

"OH, HAPPY DAY!" Taguchi exclaimed cheerily when Sakura and Syaoran got to the table.

Sakura smiled nervously and leaned to whisper into Syaoran's ear. "Okay, what is he smoking?"

He chuckled. "Koji chugged at least three bottles down his throat to get him out of his office."

"You're kidding me..."

"Are you ready?" Tomoyo asked.

Sakura took in a deep breath and nodded. Syaoran handed her a glass of champagne and she held it into the air. All attention turned to Sakura and she gulped quietly. She'd practiced her toast many times in front of the mirror, but to actually recite in front of those people was harder than she'd thought it would be..

"Good evening," she started saying. "Ladies and gentlemen, I am delighted to welcome you here tonight to celebrate the marriage of Eriol and Tomoyo. I just want to tell Tomoyo how honored I am today to stand by your side on this special day. On behalf of the bridesmaids and myself, I just want to say how beautiful and radiant you look today. It truly has been a special day for all of us."

The girls met each other's gazes and smiled.

"Tomoyo and I have been friends for a number of years now. Over the years, she has taught me the valuable lesson that friendship is the most important thing next to family. We have supported each other through good times and bad. I have many memories of wonderful times spent with Tomoyo, as we all have. And will cherish them forever," Sakura continued. "The fondest memory I will now have is watching Tomoyo marry this man today, the love of her life and companion. I love you both very much; you are two very dear friends to me. In the past years, I have seen you both grow as individuals and flourish as a couple. Separately, you both are very special, remarkable people, but together you are complete. Today we celebrate everything you have found in each other. I would like you all to please raise your glasses and join me in a toast."

Everyone slowly raised their glasses.

"To love, laughter, and happily ever after—Congratulations!!!"

Applause filled the room.

"Not bad, grasshopper." Syaoran whispered into her ear when she sat down.

Sakura smiled. "Let see how good your toast is, Mr. Best Man."

"You'll just have to wait and see."

"Thank you for saying that I'm a 'dear' friend in your speech, Sakura." Eriol said to her with a smirk on his face. "It was beautiful. I almost cried."

Sakura growled. "Oh, shove it up your—"

Syaoran quickly slapped his hand over her mouth. "Not tonight, Sakura."

_Darn_.

zZz

"Ready to find out who has the better toast?" Syaoran turned to say to her as Eriol spoke to the guests.

Sakura scoffed. "Is this a bet now?"

"What if it is?"

"What do you want if you win?"

He smirked. "_When_ I win, I want you to..."

"To...?"

"I'll tell you later." He smiled and stood up as Eriol handed the guests' attention over to him. He cleared his throat and loudly said, "Good evening ladies and gentlemen—my name is Li Syaoran and I am a childhood friend of the groom, also his best man today. Let me first say that the bridesmaids look absolutely smashing today, and only rightly outshone by our bride. And, I'm sure you'll agree with me, gentlemen, today is a sad day for single men, as another beauty leaves the available list. And ladies, I'm sure you'll agree that today passes by without much of a ripple. But it's not as great a day for the bride as she thinks. She's not marrying the _best man_."

The room laughed lightheartedly at his joke. Sakura silently rolled her eyes when Syaoran winked at her cutely.

After letting the crowd quiet down, he continued slowly. "I was really nervous beforehand, so I prepared a few lines—and having snorted them, I'm feeling pretty good right now... I'd like to say a big thank you to my assistants, the ushers—Koji and Taguchi. It was a stipulation for the wedding that the ushers weren't allowed to look better than the Best Man today, and I'm pleased to say they have accomplished their role admirably. Cheers, guys, to an awesome job!"

Another round of laughter.

"I really thought that following a speech by Eriol would be quite difficult, and I was right, I couldn't follow a bloody word of it. So, on behalf of the Bridesmaids, and the Ushers I would like to thank Eriol for …um…whatever he just said." He turned to give his friend a dashing smile. "I'd also like to echo Eriol's comments and thank everyone again on their behalf for coming and sharing their special day, particularly those that have traveled long distances. When Eriol asked me to be his best man, I was obviously very flattered. But then I realized I would have to give a speech, and that at some point during it, I would have to say something nice about him. The problem is I've had very little experience of doing either, so please bear with me."

Sakura wanted to wring her boyfriend's neck when he earned, yet, another round of laughter from the guests. Darn him and his stupid charms.

"I was actually a little worried as to how long the speech should last so I asked around and the general consensus was that it should go on for about as long as it takes the groom to perform his duties in the bedroom. So with that, ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much, you've been a great crowd!!!"

The whole place just rumbled with laughter, even Sakura couldn't help herself. Everyone laughed—everyone but the groom. Wonder why.

"Just kidding, Eriol. Scratch out what I've just said, everyone. The marriage ceremony asks that couples take each other for better or for worse. Well, Eriol, in finding Tomoyo you really couldn't have done any better. Tomoyo—you couldn't have done any worse. Just on a separate note here—not many people know this, but Tomoyo actually had a bit of bad luck this week. She had her credit card stolen on Monday, but Eriol has decided not to report it to the police however because the thief is spending less than she was!"

Syaoran had the guests eating out of his hands. He sure had a way with his charms...

"As you know, Eriol and Tomoyo have been together for years. However, I can remember when Eriol first took Tomoyo to an expensive hotel for the weekend. He did the whole romantic bit, with flowers and champagne in the room, the whole works. In the morning they went down for breakfast. Eriol ordered a full breakfast for himself: bacon, sausage, eggs, toast, cereal, and coffee. For Tomoyo, he ordered just some lettuce and carrots. I asked him later why that was, and he said he wanted to see if she ate like a rabbit as well."

Sakura giggled, catching the blush on the bride's cheeks.

"As well as the speech, it would seem that there were three main roles that I had to fulfill as his best man. The first was to make sure he got a good night's sleep before the wedding. Well, I can assure you he slept like a baby—he wet the bed twice and woke up every hour crying for his mom."

Oh, Sakura was loving the expression on the groom's face. _Priceless_. She would have to reward Syaoran one way or another when they got home.

"The second was to get him here looking presentable with his face and hair in good order. Unfortunately, God didn't get this right first time round so what chance did I have?" The guests laughed along with Syaoran. "Finally, I was to ensure that no angry ex-girlfriends showed up impromptu to spoil the ceremony. Thankfully this wasn't a problem as the recent outbreak of foot and mouth saw most of them either quarantined or shot and burned a couple of years ago."

Eriol was busy looking at his watch while grumbling something along the line of 'damn, how long is his stupid toast?'.

"Also, when I was surveying around to prepare for my speech, someone mentioned that I have to say something about the groom. So what can I say about Eriol?" Syaoran pulled out an index card from his pocket. "He's handsome, successful, witty, intelligent, charming... err... Sorry, Eriol—what's that say? I can't read your handwriting. Oh, yeah, _fantastic_ in bed! Sorry."

The groom was seen banging his head against the table repetitively.

"To be truthful, Eriol and Tomoyo have shared many romantic moments. I would like you to both share one with us all here today. Tomoyo, can you put your left hand flat on the table—and, Eriol, can you place yours on top of it? Marvelous! Eriol, I would like you to remember and treasure this moment forever...the last time you will have the upper hand."

Syaoran grinned.

"They say that the best man's speech is the worst 5 minutes of the groom's day; but fortunately for you, Eriol, it's almost over. I'd like to finish up by saying what a great honor it's been to be the best man today. On behalf of the bride and groom, I'd like to echo what I said earlier and thank everyone for sharing their special day. So then, ladies and gentlemen, it gives me immense pleasure, not to mention relief, to invite you all to stand and raise your glasses in a toast to Eriol and Tomoyo, the new Mr. and Mrs. Hiiragizawa. We wish them well for the future, and hope they enjoy a long and happy marriage. To the bride and groom!"

Syaoran sat down with a content smile on his face.

"Watch your ass when you're in the parking lot," Eriol growled under his breath.

Syaoran smirked. "The price you pay for asking me to be your best man." He turned to look at Sakura with a victorious smile. "So, what do you say, babe?"

"Mine was _sweet_," was all she said. Although—deep inside—she'd admitted defeat; but she couldn't say it to his face.

He chuckled. "Whatever you say, Sakura."

zZz

The reception was nearing to the end. Everyone that wanted to toast the bride and groom had their chances, the cake was eaten to the last bite of frosting, the alcohol were nearly gone, and the men were drunk as pigs—if pigs could get drunk.

Everyone was preparing to leave when Syaoran caught their attention by tapping an empty champaign glass.

"Before we end this night, I would like to receive your attention one more time," he said. "This has nothing to do with the bride and groom though."

"Syaoran, what are you doing?" Sakura asked.

He put a finger over her lips to hush her silently. "Just sit down, Sakura."

"What are you—?"

She was hushed again. "Shh. Just listen..." He pulled out a small box from inside his pocket and handed it to her. "It's for you, Sakura."

Sakura could hear Tomoyo and her girlfriends squealing quietly behind her. Her hands started shaking slightly, and her eyes began to water. "Syaoran..."

"I know you might think that this is too fast," he said. "I don't blame you if you doubt my decision in this, but I've decided that I want to be with you. You're the only one that I want to be with. I can't give you a candlelight dinner and a cute little poem like Eriol, because I can't simply express how I feel about you. I love you too much to put it all into action and words."

He opened the box and took out a black velvet case; kneeling down on one knee before her. "So all I can do is ask everyone in this room—our friends and family—to witness the love that I have for you. Kinomoto Sakura, will you marry me?" He opened the case to reveal a diamond ring, a very _beautiful_ diamond ring.

And Sakura just lost it. She cried like many girls would when the right guy propose to her.

"Syaoran, you're so stupid."

"Only for you, Sakura... only for you."

"I don't know what to say..."

"You don't have to say anything."

She nodded and leaned forward to kiss him passionately on the lips.

"KAWAII!" Tomoyo stood behind them with her camcorder in hands. Her _husband_ sweatdropped and wondered where she'd even kept the thing.

"NOW WAIT ONE DAMN MINUTE!" Touya came running up to them and pulled the couple apart. "_NOW_ you want to marry my sister?"

Syaoran took a step back cautiously and nodded.

The older man pulled out a clipboard and pen out of nowhere, and shoved it into Syaoran's face. "Fill that out."

Sakura sweatdropped. "... 'application to marry my sister'... Touya, do you have a form for everything?"

He shrugged. "I doubt he'd need the divorce application."

_Dear, Lord..._

Sakura sighed and wrapped her arms around Syaoran's neck as he filled out the form—not like he had a choice if he wanted to marry her.

"Syaoran...?" she said.

"Hm?"

"If Eriol's going to be the best man, then I'm getting a divorce on the day of our wedding."

He laughed. "He has to be. That kind of was our deal for him to let me propose on his wedding day. Although, we can gag him right before the toast."

"Maybe we can just trick him into going to the wrong wedding."

Eriol scoffed. "You two idiots do realize that I'm standing here, right?"

They glanced up from the paper to look at the scowling black head and smiled nervously. _Oops._

zZz

Sakura looked down at the ring on her finger. "I can't believe I've been engaged _twice_."

"How many times _do_ you want to be engaged?"

"I hope that this will be the last time." Sakura said as she leaned onto him. "Syaoran, do you think we'll have happily ever after?"

He pulled her closer and smiled, placing a gentle kiss on her eyelid. "No, because there's no such thing as happily ever after. There's only you and me—'til death do us part."

Sakura smiled. "I like the sound of that."

"Me too."

She stared at the metal walls surrounding them. "How long do you think we'll be stuck in here?"

"Until morning."

Sakura sighed exasperatedly. "Syaoran...?"

"Hm?"

"Promise me you won't _try_ to fix another thing as long as you live..."

_And so, here I am... _again.

_Being 21 years old, I'm the most unfortunate person on the face of this planet. How many people get stuck in the same elevator twice in their life? I'll be frank with you... if there weren't any before, then there's at least _two_ now._

**Three hours ago...**

"Oh, I can sure use a hot bath right now!" Sakura groaned wearily as they waited for the elevator to come down.

Syaoran chuckled and wrapped his arms around her waist suggestively. "I have an idea," he said.

"I just want to get to the apartment, take my bath, and go straight to sleep tonight." Sakura was firm in her decision. No sex _at all_ that night. "Besides, you reek with alcohol."

"Just sober."

"Shouldn't have drank too much," she said.

"I'm just happy... 'cause we're engaged."

_Yeah... we are,_ she thought.

Just at that moment, the elevator opened with a _ding_ and Sakura quickly pulled her _fianc__é_ inside before backing him up into a corner. Well, elevators were made for these sort of things. Might as well use it and give compliments to the man that invented it, right?

Standing on the tip of her toes, Sakura leaned forward and closed her eyes, gently pressing her body to his as her lips inched closer to his. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her tight, and they both waited for the sparks to come. Unfortunately... the sparks didn't come, but something _else_ did.

And the 'something else' was all over Sakura's beautiful dress.

Just when she thought nothing else could've went wrong, it did. God decided to mock her again and stopped the elevator from moving.

"Oops..." Syaoran smiled sheepishly. Sakura wasn't sure if he was saying 'oops' for vomiting on her or for doing such a lousy job on fixing the damn elevator.

So, that's how they got to _this_ point—cuddling in each other's arms in a little corner inside a broken elevator with a puddle of vomit on the other side. That was one hell of a night to remember; not to mention one heck of a tale for Sakura to tell her children one day.

Oh, yeah. She could picture it already.

Despite it all... Sakura was happy.

Sakura turned her head around to look at the sleeping Syaoran. He looked so beautiful when he was asleep. So peaceful, so pure, so beautiful. A lock of hair fell down his face, and Sakura gently brushed it back and tucked it behind his ear. He sighed and buried his face into her neck, but he didn't wake up.

She looked at him and smiled.

The night might not have been what she'd dreamt of it being, and the proposal might not have been the sweetest or most romantic thing; but it didn't matter to her. Maybe this wasn't _the_ perfect ending she'd thought of having, but she was glad that it wasn't perfect. Because perfection would mean that everything was _complete_... that there was nothing else to add to their lives and nothing to take away. Besides...

_A beautiful thing is never perfect._

_That's why there _is_ no perfect ending_—_only a beautiful beginning._

**·°·°·°·°·°·°·°·°·°·°·°·°·°·°·°·°·  
- The End -**


	21. Deleted Scenes

_NOTE_: This is **NOT** an epilogue. It's a bonus chapter with _deleted_ scenes.

* * *

**I'm In Love with a Plumber**

**x-x-x**

**BONUS:**  
The deleted scenes...

oOo

**- How it all kind of started... -**

"_Happy 21st birthday!"_

Sakura eyed the cake on the table and briefly looked around the room. There were only a few presents on the table. She quickly walked over to the window and looked out into the driveway; there wasn't a car there. Maybe they got her a car, but wanted her to think that they didn't and then pull out the key and say 'SURPRISE!'

_Hoee! Who am I kidding?_

"Happy birthday, dear!" Her father said and handed her a Hallmark greeting card.

_You're kidding me..._ Sakura thought in her mind. A greeting card? Her father gave her a greeting card on her 21st birthday...?

"Uh... t-thank you, Otou-san..."

The card read:

_Today is happy  
It most certainly is  
Shake a pop  
And make it fizz_

_Fall or trip  
Laugh or play  
Do whatever  
It's your birthday_

_Oh, before I forget  
Just so you know  
Your mother and I  
Betrothed you a long time ago._

Sakura had three things running through her mind. One, that _had_ to be _the_ worst birthday card ever. Two, _betrothed_—what the freak! And three, she didn't know Hallmarks made cards for occasions like that.

_You learn something new every day..._

zZz

**- Syaoran and the first man on the moon... -**

_Dang it_.

Li Syaoran hated his life. He hated his _stupid_ life.

His work schedule was out of control with women calling in every freaking minute and second when they didn't even _need_ a plumber. One woman called in just to get him to her place to ask if he would like a cup of tea. Oh, well... The women were throwing their money out of the window, not like he had a problem with that. But still... he needed someone to keep the hungry felines occupied. He had a feeling that it wouldn't be long until one of them snapped and raped him.

And when Eriol heard about Syaoran's _problem_, he practically _begged_ the man to hire a secretary, or rather this chick who had been bothering the black head about getting her a job and he just wanted to shut her up. All Syaoran knew about the girl was that she was a _friend_ of Eriol—his girlfriend's cousin to be exact—and Eriol was going to introduce the two another time. Syaoran just grunted and agreed. He was desperate for someone to take the tedious workload off his shoulders. Beggars can't be choosers.

So, there he was after a hard day from work; going home to his apartment and hoping to get a relaxing shower. He was nearing the building when he noticed a girl standing at the entrance. She was just standing there with suitcases in her hands, looking at the building.

And being the grown man that he was, like all men with hormones, he gave her the once over look. _She looks like a 36-25-34_, he thought. _Cute butt._

He was close enough to hear what she was saying to herself. "You know what the first man on the moon said," she said. "There's no money on the moon, but then there's no money in my pockets either."

"Who said that?" Syaoran didn't realize he had said something until he heard his own voice.

The girl jumped and spun around. The first thing he'd noticed was her eyes—it was kind of rare for a Japanese girl to have emerald eyes... almost _too_ rare.

He stared down at her chest. _Make _that_ a _**32**_-25-34._

He noticed that she was gazing at him with _that_ look. The look every woman gave him—the 'oh-my-god-he-is-so-dreamy' look. He came to the conclusion that she was moving into the building and groaned. Just wonderful. Another thing he needed was for another woman to stalk him around the building.

But on the other hand...

He quickly roamed his eyes over her body again. She was quite...

_Not bad,_ he thought. Okay, he did _not_ undress the girl in his mind! ... he just had a _very_ introspective graphic moment of her...

_And the first man on the moon shouted out, 'Eureka!'_

Okay... he _really_ needed to do something about the little extra 'C19H28O2' in his body.

zZz

**- Touya and the runaway dog... -**

"Turn off the stupid light and go to sleep!" Nakuru snapped with growing frustration and threw a pillow at her husband.

"She should have called me by now!" he exclaimed in irritation. "Why hasn't she called?"

"Touya..." the woman breathed dangerously. "If I don't get my sleep soon, I will hang _you_ up like Christmas ornaments. Now turn off the light and _go_ to sleep!"

He sighed and climbed into bed. "You're right... it's probably nothing."

That didn't calm him though 'cause half an hour later he was heading for the airport and catching a flight to Japan. It wasn't until he had gotten to Japan that he remembered about his wife, who was still in another country for their second honeymoon..._alone_. And he immediately flew back to China. On the way, he tried to come up with an excuse to prevent 'Bambi and _friends_' from becoming Christmas ornaments.

When he got back to the hotel, he found his sweet _dear_ wife waiting for him at the door with a knife in one hand and an apple in the other—a very _round_ apple.

"Welcome back, honey," she said. "How was your trip? Was it..._pleasant_?" She started peeling the apple.

Touya gulped. "Did you s-s-sleep well?"

Nakuru smiled. "Oh, yes—_very_ well. In fact, I slept so well I had a lot of time to think about a lot of things."

"Like what?"

"Like...how to cut apples for an example. Do you want me to slice your apples for you?"

"NO!" Touya screamed. "I like my apples _whole_."

"Then start explaining." She placed the apple onto the table and stabbed the knife into it. "You better have a decent excuse for leaving me in the middle of the night."

Touya chuckled nervously. "Ah, well, you see... I couldn't sleep last night so I decided to walk the dog, but then the dog ran away and I had to chase after it. Pretty smart dog, you know. Then somehow I ended up in Japan and I—" He stopped and sighed. "_Damn_. We didn't bring Kero along, did we?"

"Nope. We did not."

_Note to self: Make sure to have the dog first before using the 'dog excuse'._

zZz

**- Tomoyo and the Mario Wonder... -**

_Wow... he's a plumber?_

She didn't get a good look at Syaoran when she first saw him, because he had garbage all over him, but when he came out of the restroom with a clean face and outfit... _that_ was a different story to tell. The four decided to leave the mall to go get a drink at some place and chat for a bit.

Tomoyo gaped at the man sitting across the table from her in awe, her chin resting on her hand to stop it from falling to the ground. That wouldn't be good at all, especially when she had her _boyfriend_ sitting next to her. Sakura had told her that her boss was hot, but _dang_—seeing him in person just gave '_hot_' a whole different definition. But, of course, Eriol was still number one in Tomoyo's eyes.

She couldn't believe he was a plumber though.

Well, being a plumber wasn't a bad thing. From what Sakura had told her, the man was pretty popular with the ladies—she'd decided that it was a 'plumber' thing. After all, Mario was a plumber and everybody just _loved_ him. Maybe Syaoran was the next Mario.

_Heh. Maybe I should ask Sakura how good he jumps... or _hops.

She started giggling at her own joke. If Syaoran was Mario, then did that make Eriol... _Luigi_? Well, Eriol _did_ have fast feet... _very_ fast.

"Tomoyo, are you okay?" Sakura tapped her on the shoulder lightly.

"Huh? Oh, y-yeah, just hoppy!" she smiled. "So, Syaoran-kun... Sakura said that you were a plumber?"

He groaned. "I'm actually a..."

_Even his voice is hot._ Tomoyo giggled and started to tune out everything he was saying. All she heard was blah blah blah; she could tell that Sakura was thinking the same thing as she was—_D.R.E.A.M.Y._

But Tomoyo was thinking of a different kind of 'dreamy'. She was trying to picture if Syaoran would look better in a suit or a tux. She'd finally decided that he would look dashing in a tuxedo.

_White or black?_ She gave it a lot of thought. _BOTH!_

He could always wear the white tux for the wedding ceremony and the black one for the reception. Yup. Daidouji Tomoyo was already planning her kawaii cousin's perfect wedding in her head. She was going to design Sakura the most beautiful gown _ever_.

_He's...about what? Six foot?_

Take it from her. Trying to predict someone's measurements in your head wasn't easy. She didn't know how guys could easily do it though.

"Syaoran, how long are you?" she blurted out, interrupting the man's explanation.

Eriol spat his drink across the table.

"Why do you want to know how long he is!" he shouted.

Tomoyo bit her bottom lip. She couldn't let the other two know that she was planning their wedding for them. "Erm... curiosity?" she said instead.

"You _don't_ ask someone how long they are because you're curious!"

"I only want to know how long his legs are!" the girl cried. "Is it a crime or something?"

zZz

**- Yue and his new 'best' friend... -**

_Hey, Kami-sama..._

_It's me. I know it's been at least twenty years since I last talked to you_—_yeah, well... you're not the only one who is disappointed with how I turned out. Anyway, I haven't asked you for anything __in a very long time... but,_ please_, I am begging you to_ get rid of this thing!

Yue was desperate for an escape. From what?

"So, like, did you inherit the property from your parents? Is it like a family business that has been passed down from one generation to another? Who is the founder? The place isn't so bad, but maybe you can do a little retouching with the place. Some of the systems are kind of old and the..." And the brown haired woman continued to talk.

Didn't she need to take a moment to breathe? Yue mentally shot himself in the head. He looked up at the ceiling dramatically as if he was expecting someone to answer his cry for help.

_You see, Lord? This kind of torture should only be allowed in hell... Please... make her go away, make her disappear, take her to heaven!_

Although, he had a feeling God didn't want Nakuru in heaven either... and something told him even the Lord of the Underworld was scared of her. Nakuru was God's punishment to the human race for all of the things they've done.

Why did he even invite the woman in when she showed up at his door with a cheesecake in her hands? Curses on the cheesecake—no one could resist a cheesecake! It was like an unwritten rule. You. Don't. Say. No. To. Desserts.

"Hey, Yue, what's your last name? Do you have a last name? Why do you frown so much—I've never seen you smile—and like, do you ever go out? I see you in front of the TV _all_ the time. I bet you'd marry the TV if you could, eh? Yeah. That's what all the TV addicts are saying. I'm a half-addict..."

Yue grabbed the remote and turned on the volume as high as it would go, hoping to drown the woman's voice out.

"You know... you're probably the first person I've talked to outside the house," she said. Yue pressed the button faster, but it didn't seem to be working. "I was a full-time housewife when I was married to Touya. Of course, I still talk to my friends on the phone and meet up with them sometimes, but it's not the same you know?"

The volume was up to its limits, but he could still hear the woman yapping away like she'd never talked before in her entire life. He sighed exasperatedly, looking up at the ceiling again.

_Okay. You win. What do you want from me? I'll start praying to you before every meal and before I go to sleep_—_I'll even sacrifice a Virgin! ... do you want a divorced housewife instead?..._

"You're my new best friend!"

And... to add to the very dramatic and _heartfelt_ moment, the TV suddenly exploded. Yue felt as though his heart had just been ripped apart.

"Aww! It's okay..." she patted his shoulder lightly. "Hey, look on the bright side! Now you and I can have some quality 'best friend' time!" _Oh...shit._ "Let's go shop for a new TV!"

Yue didn't love TV the same way again after it had betrayed him.

zZz

- **The divorce**...-

"So, have you come to a conclusion?" Kaho asked. Touya and Nakuru glanced at each other for a brief second, and then both nodded in agreement. "Okay, then. Because I am your lawyer and your close friend, I will ask you again: _are you sure about this_?"

"We think it'll be better this way," said Touya.

Kaho sighed. "Nakuru, I have questions to ask you since you filed for the divorce. What are the grounds for your divorce?"

"I guess I can't ask for the house, because it belongs to Otou-san as much as it belongs to Touya," said Nakuru, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "All I'm asking for is the safe-deposit in our room."

Touya suddenly jumped up from his seat. "You'll get the safe-deposit when I rot in hell!"

"I've been unemployed and living off your money all these years," said Nakuru. "I need _something_ to start my new life."

"NOT my deposit box!"

"Don't be so cheap, Touya!"

Kaho sweatdropped. "Guys, please..."

"That's my retirement saving."

"You still have a lot of money left in the bank."

"That's a different story!" exclaimed Touya.

"I have credit in this business, too, you know." Nakuru said. "Kaho, you tell him we both have equal shares—I gave birth to this company!"

"Kaho—" Touya gave the woman a solemn glare, "—when I put a dollar into a soda machine and the soda comes out, does the soda belong to me or the soda machine?"

The other woman sighed and said, "You two have my question all wrong. I meant, what is the foundation of this case?"

"Well, the safe is made of fireproof materials," answered Nakuru.

"I mean," Kaho continued, "What are your relations like?"

"Otou-san is such a great cook, and Sakura makes the best shopping buddy on a dreary day."

The other woman said, "Let me make this very simple for you to understand, Nakuru. Does Touya beat you?"

"All the time!" the brunette exclaimed loudly. "He never lets me win when we play cards or monopoly. It's like, he _always_ has to win."

Kaho sighed, closed the lid to her laptop, and pushed her chair back just a little—frustrated. She leaned back in her seat tenting her fingers slowly and said (not so calmly), "I'm trying to freaking ask you why you want this stupid divorce!"

Nakuru made an 'o' shape with her mouth and smiled cutely. "Why didn't you say so?"

Touya rubbed his temples. Even he was frustrated by his own wife, let alone the other woman. His father was right after all. On his wedding day, his father had said to him that marriage required the man to prepare four types of _rings_: _engagement ring, wedding ring, suffering, and enduring._

"Because Touya says he can't communicate with me," answered Nakuru.

"_Dear, God_..." Kaho mumbled to herself.

"...so, about that safe-deposit..." said Nakuru.

Touya sighed. Something told him it was going to be a long day and he should call the office to let them know he was stuck at the his lawyer's office, defending his safe-deposit with his life. _Now_ Touya understood why hurricanes were always named after women. _When they arrive, they're wet and wild; but when they leave, they leave you with nothing._

zZz

**- Why SEX can be deceptive... -**

"Thank you for the lovely present, Sakura." Eriol said when he saw her and Syaoran off at the door. "It was fun winning."

The girl growled and stormed off to the car.

"Sakura, wait!" Syaoran called out. Turning to look at Eriol, he said, "Thanks a lot. Now I have to listen to her complain on the ride home."

Eriol smirked. "Later."

"Why don't you like Sakura?" Tomoyo asked when he had closed the door.

"I do like her," he answered. "I just despise her more than I like her."

"I give up..." the girl sighed. "At least you two _try_ to get along—if I can call making nifty insults 'getting along'."

Eriol chuckled and wrapped his arms around her delicate waist. "You know... I have a fetish for SEX now."

"Really? I'm up for a game of one on one, too." She giggled.

"I'll turn off the lights down here and meet up with you in the bedroom." He watched her go, admiring the gentle sway of her hips, the graceful way she moved. When she was out of sight, he quickly went to turn off the lights downstairs and grabbed the Scrabble box off the coffee table in the living room.

Surprisingly, he actually liked the gift. He was rather _fond_ of it. One, Sakura sucked at it and he was the Scrabble King. Two, it was quite entertaining. It helped him relax some of the stress from work.

He was just ecstatic that Sakura's plan to tick him off backfired. He adored the expression on the younger girl's face. _Priceless_.

"Okay, I got the game—" he pushed the bedroom door open and froze. Lying in bed was his girlfriend—_naked_. Not that he was complaining, but... "Are you going to bed already?"

"What do you mean? I thought you said you wanted to..."

"Yeah. I was thinking we could play a little Scrabble before bed. What were _you_ thinking of?"

The girl laughed nervously, her cheeks turning a shade of red as she pulled the blanket to cover herself. "Strip Scrabble?"

zZz

**- The millionaire answers... -**

Syaoran looked down at the form and groaned.

1. FULL NAME: Li Syaoran DATE OF BIRTH: July 13th

2. FATHER'S NAME: Koto MOTHER'S NAME: Yelan

3. HOW MANY SIBLINGS? None

4. WHAT'S YOUR PROFESSION? Architect/architectural engineer SALARY? Enough to pay for your funeral

5. HEIGHT: 185 cm WEIGHT: 74 kg IQ: 125 GPA: 4.62

6. SOCIAL SECURITY No.: I don't think this will be useful to you DRIVERS LICENSE No: ...or this either...

7. BOY SCOUT RANK: I think I was the hot one...

8. HOME ADDRESS: Ask your sister where she lives and that's where I live PHONE: 555-4636

9. Do you have one MALE and one FEMALE parent? Yes **X**

10. Number of years parents married: **none** If less than your age, explain:

Could it be that they never got married?

11. DO YOU OWN A VAN? **No** A TRUCK WITH OVER-SIZED TIRES OR CAMPER SHELL? **No** WATER BED? **No** MOTORCYCLE? **No** TATTOO? **No** COLOR ALTERED HAIR? **Hell NO** A CONDOM? **(1)** PORNOGRAPHY? **(2)** EARRING, NOSE RING, BELLY RING? **No** SMOKE? **No** (IF YES TO ANY PART OF #11, DISCONTINUE APPLICATION AND LEAVE PREMISES IMMEDIATELY.)

**(1)** I don't own _a_ condom; I own a _pack_ of condom_s_. **(2)** You said pornography, nothing about _erotica_; therefore, I can still continue.

12. In 50 words or less, what does "Late" mean to you?

Better late than never, but never late is better.

13. In 50 words or less, what does "DO NOT TOUCH MY SISTER" mean to you?

It means I should _never_ lay a single finger on your sister. And I assure you, I have not laid a **single** finger on her at all. I've always made sure to use _more_ than just a single finger, so you have nothing to worry about.

14. In 50 words or less, what does "ABSTINENCE" mean to you?

My sex education teachers have always said that abstinence means to never allow my pet bunny out of its playpen, and I doubt that my bunny would want to leave its **playpen** anyhow. Like all bunnies, my bunny likes it _tight_.

15. What church do you attend? I'm banned from church. **(3)** How often do you attend? zero/ week

**(3)** There's a perfectly good reason why I am banned. The Father told me to never come back, because the women started to worship _me_ the minute that I walked into the church. 'Tis not my fault God made me like this...

16. When would be the best time to interview your:

FATHER? Next lifetime MOTHER? Next lifetime PRIEST? N/A PAROLE OFFICER? Parole officer? I'm not THAT naughty...

17. Fill in the blanks: Please answer freely - all answers are confidential (That means I won't tell anyone - I promise):

A. If I were shot, the last place on my body I would want to be wounded is in the behind.

B. If I were beaten, the last bone I would want broken is my funny bone.

C. A women's place is in the Big G - ohh, gee...

D. The one thing I hope this application does not ask me about is _**what**_ I like to eat.

E. I like _stimulating_ girls. (Use an adjective, moron.)

F. I like to go hunting in the fall. I go fishing in the summer. I like to ride my snow mobile in the winter.

G. When I first meet a girl, the first thing I notice is her figure from head to toe **(4)** (NOTE: If the answer to "G" begins with a B, T, or A, discontinue and leave the premises immediately with your _head_ hung low.)

(4) I don't like to play favorites—so I prefer the _whole_ package.

18. Do you plan to marry my sister? **Yes** (Yes or No; Maybe is _not_ acceptable.)  
If YES, _thoroughly_ state your plans: First, I will start with a proposal. IF she says 'yes,' then I plan to make her the happiest woman on the face of this planet. We will have a big wedding, followed by a BIG honeymoon. Since you said 'thoroughly state your plans,' here are the further details: I want eleven kids to start a soccer team. I've always been a soccer lover. I used to be a star player in high school, so scoring eleven points shouldn't be a problem. Also, I know how to play more than one position.

19. Condoms come in packages of (check one): — 3 — 6 — 9 — 12 **X** All of the above.  
How do you know? I'll let your sister tell you.

20. If you are to "magically" die in your sleep one beautiful evening, what would you like me to tell my sister?

She made the best omelettes I've ever had.

Syaoran signed his name on the signature line, looked over his answers, and took in a deep breath before stepping out of the car. He rang the doorbell and waited patiently for someone to come.

Touya opened the door and scowled. "You're still here?" the man snorted and held the door open. "Get in."

Syaoran groaned inwardly and stepped inside. Something told him the correct decision was to turn around and run away. But before he could change his mind, he heard a _slam_ behind him, and Touya had locked all of the locks.

He swallowed hard.

zZz

**- The Bachelorette Talk... -**

"What should we do now?" asked Sakura. The others shrugged, and they all turned to look at the oldest woman in the room. "What did you do for your bachelorette party, Nakuru?"

The woman looked up from her glass of Long Island Iced Tea. "I crashed Touya's bachelor party and threw out the strippers."

"There are strippers at bachelor party?" Tomoyo screeched.

"Didn't you know that already?"

The bride-to-be immediately pulled herself off the bed, grabbing the phone off the table, and went into the bathroom to call her fiancé. The others sighed and went back to their drinking. Sakura was lying on the bed with Nakuru and Meiling while Chiharu, Naoko, Rika, and Michiru plopped themselves on the floor.

"We played all the bachelorette games we could think of," said Meiling. "And half of us are dead drunk."

Nakuru started chuckling. "You girls might think marriage is _so_ great and wonderful... but just wait until you pass the newlywed stage."

Sakura giggled. "Kaho-san says that husbands are like lawn mowers. They're hard to get started, they emit noxious odors, and half of the time they don't work. And I thought Yukito-san seems like the perfect husband."

Nakuru laughed. "Yukito and Touya are _best_ friends. They shared the same crib to the same bed to the same room. I'm surprise Touya hadn't turned Yukito into a full 'male' specimen already. This is how men define a 50-50 marriage: we cook-they eat; we clean-they dirty; we iron-they wrinkle. Men... I'm telling you."

"A woman wants one man to satisfy her every need. A man wants _every_ woman to satisfy his one need." Naoko joined in on the conversation.

Nakuru raised her glass in the air. "Give me an '_amen_' to that, sister."

"I have a question..." Rika said as she stared at the ceiling. "Why does it take 100 million sperms to fertilize one egg?"

"Because not one will stop and ask for directions," Michiru said and they all laughed.

Sakura sighed. "How do you know when he's planning for the future—_our_ future?"

"When he buys two cases of beer instead of one." Chiharu replied, rolling onto her stomach. "Do you girls know what's the best way to kill a man?"

"Castrate him!" Nakuru screamed immediately. Well... at least the woman got something out of her previous marriage—her ex-husband's violence.

Sakura thought of Syaoran and said, "No sex." She was positive that would kill him in less than twenty-four hours.

"Shoot him where it hurts most," was Meiling's answer.

"Take away his Rubber Ducky and bubble baths." Everyone stared at Michiru. "What...?"

"All good answers, but unfortunately it's not the _best_ way," Chriharu said. "The best way to kill a man is to put a naked woman and a six-pack in front of him. Then you tell him to pick only one."

"Sorry, that took awhile!" Tomoyo came back into the room. "What were you talking about?"

They all took in a deep breath, sighed and said: "Men..."

"Anyone wants to play the 'Men are like...' game?" Rika asked. "Since we're on the subject of men."

"How do you play?" Sakura asked.

"When it's your turn, you just say whatever 'Men are like...' quotes you've heard or make up a new one, and if you agree to something that is said then you drink." Nakuru explained. "The purpose of the game is to just sit back, unwind, and drink. Since Tomoyo is the bride-to-be, you start us off."

Tomoyo took her place beside Sakura and grabbed a drink off the night table. "My boss says this _all_ the time—men are like commercials. You can't believe a word they say." She chugged down her drink. "That felt good."

The others drank as well. "Men are like remote controls. Simple, easy to use, and usually lying around a TV," said Rika.

"Men are like old car tires. Balding, full of hot air, and it never hurts to have a spare." Everyone just sort of looked at the giggling Meiling. "...what? It's true."

Only Naoko agreed with the girl. "The single ladies need to stick together," she said. "Cheers."

"Men are like department stores. Their clothes should always be half off," said Michiru.

"_AMEN!_" shouted Nakuru. "Men are like placemats. They only show up when there's food on the table."

Sakura smiled. "I'll use the oldest saying of all—men are like blenders. You need one, but you're not quite sure why."

"They say the oldest is the wisest," said Chiharu. "Men are like noodles. They're always in hot water, they lack taste, and they need dough."

"Men are like cement," Naoko said with a sigh. "After getting laid, they take a long time to get hard."

Everyone took a drink except for Sakura. They all gaped at her. Meiling choked on her drink, just thinking about what had meant. "...ew, the thought of my cousin!"

Sakura smiled nervously.

Tomoyo gasped. "You mean, he...?"

"Yeah."

Chiharu and Naoko did a fox whistle. "Talk about stamina!"

"Here's one!" exclaimed Meiling. "Men are like snowstorms. You don't know when he's coming, how many inches you'll get or how long he will last."

They all laughed.

"I wonder what the guys are doing now..." said Sakura.

Tomoyo giggled. "I can assure you that there isn't a stripper involved."

zZz

And now, moving on to the guys...

**- The Men's Compact... -**

"Eriol, this sucks ass!" Syaoran protested, kicking his shoes off and placing his feet on the coffee table. "We're in an expensive penthouse, but where are the strippers?"

Touya growled. "As much as I want to kill him for asking for strippers, I agree with the brat. Where are the strippers? _Look_. I didn't get to have strippers at my bachelor party, and I'll be _damned_ if I don't see some stripping at this party!"

Takashi sighed and started to unbutton his shirt.

Syaoran threw his shoes at the man. "What the hell do you think _you're_ doing!"

The two had only met for a few hours and, already, they were best friends from Heaven.

"He said he wanted to see some stripping..."

Touya rubbed his temples. "I meant _female_ strippers."

Eriol groaned. "Somehow, Tomoyo found out that there was going to be strippers and she said—"

Touya snorted. "You actually _listen_ to her?"

"Hey... _at least_ you got to go to your lawyer's office and signed papers. If we call this off now, I lose a whole lot more than just my marriage."

Syaoran snorted. "Cheap."

"Oh, shut up."

"That's why I always say women are like the stock market," said Koji, speaking up for the first time. "They're irrational and can bankrupt you if you're not careful."

Touya scoffed. "A woman is like a pack of cards—you need a heart to love her, a diamond to marry her, a club to smash her head in, and a spade to bury her."

"Give me a high five for that." Koji laughed.

Syaoran smirked. "You should be careful, Koji. Your woman's brother is sitting in this room."

"So is yours, Syaoran."

"But he's not my boss."

"_Damn._"

"W-wait..." Takashi interrupted them. "You're dating a friend's sister?"

"What's wrong with that?" asked Koji.

"You're breaking the Men's Compact—that's what!"

Syaoran sat up straight in his seat. "I don't remember that being in the compact."

"It is," said Taguchi. "Number 5 on the list."

Touya suddenly jumped up from his seat and screamed out 'HELL YEAH!' to Syaoran's face.

"You're fucking kidding me!" Syaoran screamed; apparently, he was not so pleased about that news.

One, that would mean Touya actually had a really good reason to keep him and Sakura apart—or worse... kill him. Why? Because he broke the compact. _THE_ compact. It wasn't just any compact—it was the Men's Compact, the ever-so-sacred unwritten laws every man had to go by and was severely punished if broken a law.

Eriol snorted. "I can't believe you two forgot the compact."

Syaoran growled. "I don't remember you trying to remind me either."

"Then let us remind you now," the black head grinned sweetly. "Takashi, recite the compact please."

The other man stood up and cleared his throat before speaking loudly. "The Holy laws that every man shall obey are the following:

1. Never hesitate to reach for the last beer or the last slice of pizza, but not both. That's just plain mean.

2. Any man who brings a camera to a bachelor party may be legally killed and eaten by his fellow partygoers.

3. When you are queried by a buddy's wife, girlfriend, mother, father, priest, shrink, dentist, accountant, or dog walker, you need not and should not provide any useful information whatsoever as to his whereabouts. You are permitted to deny his very existence.

4. Unless he murdered someone in your immediate family, you must bail a friend out of jail within 12 hours.

5. If you've known a guy for more than 24 hours, his sister is off-limits forever.

6. The minimum amount of time you have to wait for another guy who's running late is 5 minutes. For a woman, you are required to wait 10 minutes for every point of hotness she scores on the classic 1-10 scale.

7. No man is ever required to buy a birthday present for another man. In fact, even remembering a friend's birthday is strictly optional and slightly gay.

8. Before dating a buddy's ex, you are required to ask his permission and he, in return, is required to grant it.

9. If a man's zipper is down, that's his problem—you didn't see nothin'.

10. The universal compensation for buddies who help you move is beer. If you own a sleep sofa or live on the second floor it is pizza and beer. If you own a sleep sofa and live on the second floor it shall be eaten inside a restaurant. If you are over 35 years old then hire some movers, cheap bastard.

11. It is permissible to consume a fruity chick drink only when you're sunning on a tropical beach... and it's delivered by a topless supermodel... and it's free.

12. Unless you're in prison, never fight naked.

13. If a buddy is outnumbered, out manned, or too drunk to fight, you must jump into the fight. Exception: If within the last 24 hours his actions have caused you to think, "What this guy needs is a good ass-whoopin", then you may sit back and enjoy.

14. Phrases that may NOT be uttered to another man while weightlifting:

"Yeah, baby, push it!"

"C'mon, give me one more! Harder!"

"Another set and we can hit the showers."

15. If the breasts are fake you can stare all you want. The poor girl paid for ten thousand dollars worth of attention and damn it we are going to give it to her!

16. If you compliment a guy on his six-pack, you better be referring to his beer.

17. If a buddy is already singing along to a song in the car, you may not join him...too gay.

18. Threesomes are girl-guy-girl only. No sword-fighting allowed.

19. It is OK for a man to cry ONLY under the following circumstances: (a) When a heroic dog dies to save its master. (b) Anna Kournikova gets married. (c) After wrecking your boss's car. (d) When _she_ is using her teeth.

20. It should be understood that while—yes—cheerleading is not a sport, it is perfectly acceptable to watch.

21. If a man is punched and the hit is rubbed, he is punched again in the same area twice. The lesson will continue until he learns to take it like a man—no rubbing.

22. When in doubt in an argument and/or you know you are defeated, storm off, preferably slamming the door and/or hitting some breakable object on the way out. Always let them _think_ they won the argument.

23. Slapping another guy on the ass is only allowed in good fun. Not with intention. Slapping women on the ass without permission is unacceptable. Get permission first.

24. We've all heard about people having guts or balls, but do you really know the difference between them? In an effort to keep you informed, the definition of each is listed below:

"_GUTS_" is arriving home late after a night out with the guys, being assaulted by your wife with a broom, and having the guts to say, "Are you still cleaning or are you flying somewhere?"

" _BALLS_" is coming home late after a night out with the guys smelling of perfume and beer, lipstick on your collar, slapping your wife on the ass and having the balls to say, "You're next!"

Get it now?

25. And finally, the one rule that every man MUST follow (even if he forgets the others): A man must live by these priorities—sex, buddies, sports, and beer. Money is an exception for we all realize that eventually we'd be broke-ass poor due to excessive spending on women and beer. It is _okay_ to be poor.

Those that break these Holy laws shall and will be punished. It's a dangerous world out there for men with all the women, girlfriends, wives, and whatnots; therefore, it's up to us guys to look out for each other. These laws MUST NOT be broken, unless compromised."

Syaoran groaned. "Just fucking wonderful. W-Wait a minute—Koji has dated Michiru for years and Taguchi didn't said anything!"

Taguchi smiled. "That's because I'm not violent."

Touya cackled evilly and popped his knuckles. Syaoran cringed and started to back up slowly from where he was standing. "Whatever you do..." he was practically pleading through his yellow boxer shorts. "Don't hit the face. I still have to present myself as the best man."

Eriol sighed. "He has a point."

The guys sighed quietly as Touya tackled Syaoran to the ground.

"To Eriol," said Taguchi, "Good luck."

The other guys eventually raised their glasses in the air and repeated what Taguchi just said as they enjoyed the show before them. Well, at least the bachelor party wasn't a total loss. It wasn't a steamy strip show, but it was still better than nothing. They all had entertainment, and Eriol didn't have to spend a dime. Syaoran just had to deal with a few broken ribs, a bruised cheek, a black eye, and a bloody jaw—but he was going to be fine by the time of the wedding, which was the week after. He was a fast healer...

Well, if he wasn't then he was going to become the ugliest Best Man in the world.

Thank God that didn't happen.

**·°·°·°·°·°·°·°·°·°·°·°·°·°·°·°·°·  
****Completed Date: 08.01.07  
**_Last Updated: 03.01.08_

* * *

_(**09.23.12**) I've been asked so many times this very question: __What does Plumber satirize?_ Rather than answering that question directly and risk hurting a few tender souls, I'll just say that Plumber is meant to be the embodiment of everything cliche and overused (roommates, neighbors, secret fiance, drama from an arranged marriage, cat-and-mouse attraction, etc etc etc, the list goes on). Plumber spawned from a dare by a friend—after having read some gagtastic stories on this site, one conversation led to another and somehow I ended up writing a story that we both hated; that is not to say that I didn't enjoy writing the story. Because I did. You just won't see me write another story like this again. Ever. :)  



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